Use of Nicergoline as Adjunctive Treatment of Neurotrophic Keratitis in Routine Clinical Practice: A Case Series

PURPOSE To describe the effectiveness and safety of nicergoline in patients with epithelial corneal defect or corneal ulcer due to neurotrophic keratitis (NK). METHODS A prospective case series review was performed in 14 patients with NK who started treatment with nicergoline as an off-label prescription from January to November 2020. Patients with a epithelial defect or corneal ulcer due to NK were treated with oral nicergoline. RESULTS/SERIAL CASES Complete corneal healing was observed in 10 (71.4%) of the 14 patients after 25.6 ± 26.60 days (range 7-90) with nicergoline. In three (21.5%) patients wound healing was not achieved, and one patient (7.1%) was lost to follow-up. The mean time between diagnosis and the starting of nicergoline was 10.92 ± 8.85 days (0-28). No adverse effects of nicergoline were observed. CONCLUSION Nicergoline as an adjunctive treatment for NK showed a potential use in the healing of epithelial defect in real-life clinical practice.