The following is a summary of “Clinical Outcome of Amniotic Membrane Transplant in Ocular Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis at a Major Burn Unit,” published in the August 2023 issue of Opthalmology by Mortensen et al. 

Researchers performed a retrospective study to examine the clinical outcome of amniotic membrane transplantation in patients with ocular Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis at a prominent burn unit.

This non-randomized interventional study involved a chart review of 43 patients (85 eyes) treated with amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) for severe ocular Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), or SJS/TEN at a burn center between April 2014 and January 2022. The study gathered data on clinical progress and outcomes while comparing cryopreserved AMT rings (cryoAMT) and dehydrated AMT (deAMT).

A total of 85 eyes from 43 patients underwent AMT for severe ocular SJS/TEN. Among them, 72 eyes received deAMT with a symblepharon ring, while 13 received cryoAMT on the cornea. All patients had deAMT placed on eyelid margins, palpebral conjunctivae, and fornices. The average best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) during the last follow-up was 20/33 for all eyes, 20/30 for cryoAMT, and 20/34 for deAMT (no significant difference between groups).

The study demonstrated lamotrigine was the leading suspected cause (17% cases). The average long-term complication score was 1.4, with similar scores in the cryoAMT group (1.6) and deAMT group (1.4, P=0.5). CryoAMT had more symblepharon formation than deAMT (P<0.05). The study concluded that AMTs effectively reduce long-term complications and enhance visual outcomes in severe ocular SJS/TEN. Due to the study’s retrospective nature, substantial conclusions about outcome differences between AMT methods are limited. Still, cryopreserved AMT rings showed comparable results to dehydrated AMTs with symblepharon rings. Additional research is required to determine optimal AMT techniques.

Source: ajo.com/article/S0002-9394(23)00313-6/fulltext