Ozone therapy as adjunctive treatment in severe bacterial corneal ulcer

Introduction: spontaneous evolution or poorly treated cases of corneal ulcer carry the risk of extension of the infection, with severe visual impairment and damage to the structural integrity of the eye. Objective: to describe the clinical-epidemiological characteristics of patients with severe bacterial corneal ulcer treated with local ozone therapy as an adjunct to the standard protocol treatment. Method: an observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out on 48 patients admitted to the Ophthalmology service of the Hospital General Docente “Dr. Juan Bruno Zayas Alfonso”, from Santiago de Cuba, in the period from January 2017 to December 2019. The study variables were: age, gender, predisposing factors, microorganisms, signs of clinical improvement, treatment results and complications. Chi-square test was used for statistical validation. Results: the average age of the patients was 54.1 years; 62.5% of them were men. Ocular trauma (63.3%) predominated in males, and ocular diseases (44.4%) in females. The improvement of the signs was more common after 14 days. Satisfactory results were achieved in 100% of patients with gram-positive organisms. 10.4% presented corneal perforation. Conclusions: ozone therapy is valid as a treatment for severe corneal ulcer of bacterial etiology, and responds to the search for alternatives for patients with resistance to the antibacterial treatments that are offered in the basic health system.