ArticleThe British journal of ophthalmology2024
Structural and functional changes of binocular corneal innervation and ocular surface function after unilateral SMILE and tPRK.
Article in The British journal of ophthalmology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Axial length-based reference values for corneal sensitivity in a pediatric population.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2026Article
- Research progress in animal models of dry eye disease: Types, mechanisms, and application prospects.Animal models and experimental medicine · 2026Review
- Refractive and visual changes in the fellow eye after unilateral refractive surgery in patients with anisometropia.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Microstructural alterations of the trigeminal ganglion in chronic ocular surface pain patients: A diffusion MRI study.NeuroImage · 2025Article
- Comprehensive evaluation of ocular surface parameters in patients with moderate-to-high myopia.International journal of ophthalmology · 2025Article
- Geometrical Features of Subbasal Corneal Whorl-like Nerve Patterns in Dry Eye Disease: An In Vivo Confocal Microscopy Study.Ophthalmology scienceArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsTo evaluate the bilateral changes in the sub-basal nerve plexus of the cornea and ocular surface function after unilateral small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) and transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy (tPRK) procedures.
methods34 patients were enrolled in the study and underwent unilateral SMILE (21 of 34 patients) or unilateral tPRK (13 of 34 patients). Complete ophthalmic examinations, tear film function tests and Cochet-Bonnet esthesiometry were conducted to assess the effects of the surgeries on the corneal nerves and tear function. Morphological changes were assessed using in vivo confocal microscopy to evaluate the corneal sub-basal nerve plexus and dendritic cells. ELISA was used to measure the tear neuromediators. Clinical and morphological data at each follow-up point were compared with preoperative baseline values.
resultsAll patients who underwent unilateral SMILE or tPRK procedures exhibited bilateral corneal nerve degenerative changes, decreased corneal sensitivity, worsening of dry eye symptoms and changes in bilateral tear neuromediators. In the SMILE group, bilateral corneal sensitivity was positively correlated with corneal nerve fibre length and negatively correlated with dendritic cell area. The dry eye severity was negatively correlated with corneal sensitivity. Tear levels of substance P and nerve growth factor were positively correlated with mean dendritic cell area and dry eye severity, but negatively correlated with corneal sensitivity. In the tPRK group, bilateral corneal sensitivity was positively correlated with corneal nerve fibre density.
conclusionsUnilateral refractive surgery may bilaterally affect the morphology and function of corneal nerves and ocular surface status postoperatively.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.