Purpose: To describe the risk factors, clinical course, and characteristics of 5 cases of acute calcific band keratopathy (BK) after the use of recombinant human nerve growth factor for neurotrophic keratitis. Methods: A single-center retrospective chart review of 43 eyes of 43 patients previously diagnosed with neurotrophic keratitis from April 2021 to October 2023 was conducted. All patients had previously completed at least one 8-week course of topical cenegermin 0.002%. Five of the 43 cenegermin-treated eyes that developed BK are included in this series. Results: The incidence of BK was 11.6%. The median time from treatment initiation to BK was 8 weeks. A corneal biopsy confirmed the presence of calcification in 2 cases. All 5 patients had persistent calcium deposits after discontinuing treatment. Prolonged epithelial defect healing time while on treatment was observed in patients who developed BK. Conclusions: BK was observed after cenegermin use. Herein, we report a series of 5 cases, which occurred at the same institution. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid chelation therapy had variable results, with 4 out of 5 patients requiring repeated surgical intervention because of multiple recurrences of BK.
Morcos et al. (2026) studied this question.