Background and Importance Autologous serum eye drops (SAED), a pharmaceutical formulation prepared from patient’s blood, are used in corneal surface pathologies. Since alternative therapies are limited, its prescription has increased in recent years.

Aim and Objectives Analyse effectiveness and safety of SAED in patients diagnosed with corneal surface pathologies.

Material and Methods Observational, retrospective study in a secondary hospital between January 2019 and March 2022 including patients treated with 20% SAED.

Variables: demographic data, diagnose, concomitant diseases, duration of treatment, ocular affectation (left eye (LE), right eye (RE), both eyes (BE)), subjective clinical improvement (SCI), adverse effects (AE), concomitant treatments, visual acuity (VA) at months 0, 3 and 6 of treatment.

Effectiveness was evaluated by SCI and VA, measured on a decimal scale, at three and six months of treatment. Safety was evaluated by AE documented in medical records.

Results Thirty-five patients (77% women) were included with mean age 61 years (20-96). Principals diagnoses were: dry eye syndrome (n=15), superficial punctuate keratitis (n=10) and Sjögren’s syndrome (n=9). Forty-eight percent of patients presented concomitant diseases, highlighting fibromyalgia in six of them.

Mean treatment length was 500 ± 348 days. Ten patients (28%) discontinued treatment during the study. The reasons were: reaction to 20% SAED (n=4), remission (n=4), death not associated with the treatment (n=1) and change of hospital (n=1).

Twenty-nine patients (82%) had affectation in BE. SCI was observed in 82% of patients at months three and six. Principals AE were: conjunctival hyperaemia (n=4), blepharitis (n=2), stinging (n=1) and tears with excess mucus (n=1). Artificial tears (51%) and corticosteroids eye drops (11%) were the main concomitant treatments.

VA data was available in 14 patients (40%). Mean VA in RE was 0.80 ± 0.29, 0.80 ± 0.31 and 0.82 ± 0.25 at months 0,3 and 6 respectively. Mean VA in LE was 0.85 ± 0.25, 0.83 ± 0.23 and 0.87 ± 0.15 respectively.

Conclusion and Relevance According to SCI and VA’s progressive improvement over the months and a low incidence of AE, 20% SAED are an effective and safe treatment for corneal surface pathologies.

Conflict of Interest No conflict of interest.