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The following is a summary of “Efficacy of Amniotic Membrane Grafting for the Treatment of Chemical and Thermal Ocular Surface Injuries: A Report by the American Academy of Ophthalmology,” published in the February 2025 issue of Ophthalmology by Veldman et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to review published literature on the efficacy of amniotic membrane grafting (AMG) for acute chemical and thermal ocular surface burns, focusing on corneal re-epithelialization rates and improvements in visual acuity or corneal clarity.
They performed literature searches in the PubMed database in May 2023, updated in January 2024, and limited to the English language with no date restrictions. The search identified 474 citations, of which 58 were fully reviewed, and 9 met inclusion criteria and 4 studies were categorized as level II and 5 as level III. The focus was on 3 level II studies, which showed consistent primary and secondary outcomes but lacked power calculations and a priori sample-size estimates.
The results showed that AMG significantly enhanced corneal re-epithelialization in moderate-grade burns compared to medical therapy alone. However, AMG offered no benefit for severe burns and did not improve visual acuity or corneal clarity in moderate or severe ocular surface burns.
Investigators concluded that AMG accelerated re-epithelialization in moderate acute ocular surface burns, but as an adjunct to medical therapy, it did not improve outcomes in severe burns or visual acuity/corneal clarity in either severity.
Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0161642024005141
