DOI: https://doi.org/10.36347/sjmcr.2026.v14i04.021

Pages: 671-677

Keratoconus is an idiopathic corneal dystrophy characterized by ectasia and progressive non-inflammatory thinning of the cornea. It affects young individuals and has considerable progressive potential, thus constituting a source of visual impairment for children and young adults. Collagen crosslinking (CXL) is currently the only treatment that can slow its progression. We conducted a prospective study at the Ophthalmology Department of CHU Hassan II in Fez, where we collected epidemiological and clinical data over two years with a 12-month follow-up period. The study included 57 patients (65 eyes). Our patients benefited from a modified accelerated protocol (9 mW/cm², 14 minutes). Our results demonstrated a decrease in maximum keratometry (kmax) from 57,54 diopters to 54,68 diopters at 6 months (p=0,009) and 54,32 diopters at 12 months (p=0,128). The average pachymetry was 448 µm, and it decreased by 32 µm after a 6-month period. Corneal OCT was performed on 24 eyes and showed a continuous and regular demarcation line in 50% of cases. The main complication was corneal haze. An improvement in the topographic profile and visual acuity (VA) is observed, especially when the management is early. We quantified the rates of stabilization, improvement and progression following corneal cross-linking according to predefined criteria: 29% of eyes were stable, 66% improved and 5% showed progression following CXL. Corneal crosslinking represents a promising procedure in stabilizing and regressing the progression of this potentially blinding corneal dystrophy.