Background and importance Recently, the insulin eye drops formulation 1 IU/mL has been included in the Pharmacotherapeutic Guide. Recent studies demonstrate its efficacy and safety in the treatment of keratitis and dry eye.

Aim and objectives To analyse the patient profile and describe the characteristics of insulin eye drops treatment, as well as its effectiveness, tolerance and patient satisfaction.

Material and methods Retrospective observational study in a tertiary hospital. All patients treated with insulin eye drops during the period January–September 2021 were included. The variables collected were: demographics, indication, duration of treatment, line of treatment, clinical response and adverse effects (both described in the clinical history) and patient satisfaction (using the ‘Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication’ version 1.4: 14 questions, distributed in four domains: effectiveness, side effects, convenience and overall satisfaction).

A descriptive statistical analysis was performed with measures of central tendency and dispersion for quantitative variables (mean and standard deviation (SD)) and absolute frequencies for categorical variables.

Results A total of 34 patients treated with insulin eye drops 1 UI/mL were included. The mean age was 58.89 (SD 15.79) years. A total of 47.10% were women. 35.29% were diagnosed with non-herpetic keratitis, 20.59% with herpetic keratitis, 17.65% with corneal erosion, 14.71% with dry eye, 8.82% with pterygium and 2.94% others. The duration of treatment was 120.01 (SD 43.81) days. A total of 17.59% were treated in the fourth or successive lines, 17.65% in the third, 8.82% in the second and 2.94% in the first. Almost all (91.18%) the patients responded to treatment and 8.82% of patients showed toxicity (conjunctival hyperemia and ocular pain). Patients were satisfied or betterrior with the treatment: 91.17% in terms of effectiveness, 8.53% adverse effects, 88.23% convenience and 94.12% overall satisfaction.

Conclusion and relevance The insulin eye drops formulation 1 IU/mL is a good therapeutic alternative as a rescue treatment in patients refractory to the usual treatments. The preparation, by the pharmacist, of formulas allows coverage of possible therapeutic gaps in the treatment of herpetic and non-herpetic keratitis.

Conflict of interest No conflict of interest