How to cure allergic conjunctivitis and reduce clinical signs: the tacrolimus study

By Cristiano Antonino On Mar 31, 2023

The results of a recent publication have demonstrated the efficacy of tacrolimus, administered as eye drops, to treat particularly resistant allergic conjunctivitis, with proliferative lesions or corneal involvement (keratoconjunctivitis)

Tacrolimus works as an eye drop for allergic conjunctivitis

The prospective study included 1,436 patients with refractory allergic conjunctivitis who were treated with 0.1% tacrolimus (an immunosuppressant) ophthalmic suspension.

The mean age of the patients was just over 8 years at disease onset and approximately 16 years at study enrollment.

Patients received one drop of tacrolimus twice daily and were observed for up to 6 months

The clinical signs and symptoms decreased significantly already after one month and the improvements continued, remaining stable throughout the observation period.

After the first month, marked improvements were seen even in patients who had previously received drops of cyclosporine 0.1%, another immunosuppressant.

Before initiation of tacrolimus therapy, the giant papillae, a typical sign of allergic conjunctivitis (see image), were present in 87.2% of patients.

During the last observation, however, only 15.8% of the patients still showed a condition of giant-papillary conjunctivitis.

Superficial punctate keratopathy, often found in severe forms of allergic conjunctivitis, was identified in 67.8% of patients before the start of therapy and only in 22.3% of patients at the final follow-up.

Treatment side effects: A transient burning sensation was reported by 3.2% of patients.