TY - JOUR T1 - Therapeutic effects of 0.1% tacrolimus eye drops for refractory allergic ocular diseases with proliferative lesion or corneal involvement JF - British Journal of Ophthalmology JO - Br J Ophthalmol SP - 1023 LP - 1027 DO - 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2013-304453 VL - 98 IS - 8 AU - Atsuki Fukushima AU - Yuichi Ohashi AU - Nobuyuki Ebihara AU - Eiichi Uchio AU - Shigeki Okamoto AU - Naoki Kumagai AU - Jun Shoji AU - Etsuko Takamura AU - Yayoi Nakagawa AU - Kenichi Namba AU - Hiroshi Fujishima AU - Dai Miyazaki Y1 - 2014/08/01 UR - http://bjo.bmj.com/content/98/8/1023.abstract N2 - Background The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of topical 0.1% tacrolimus in treating refractory allergic conjunctivitis with proliferative lesions and/or corneal involvement. Methods This prospective observational study included 1436 patients with refractory allergic conjunctivitis whose condition had responded poorly to conventional antiallergic drugs and/or topical steroids and/or topical cyclosporine. All patients received tacrolimus eye drops twice daily during the study period. Ten clinical signs and six clinical symptoms were rated on a four-grade scale. The primary endpoint was the change from baseline in total clinical signs and symptoms score at the last observation or following 6 months of treatment. Results Total signs and symptoms score significantly decreased after 1 month of treatment (p<0.001). Giant papillae and corneal lesions were also reduced by tacrolimus eye drop use (p<0.001). The drug proved effective in patients whose condition did not respond well to topical cyclosporine therapy. About 50% of all patients using topical steroids were weaned. The most common adverse reaction was a transient burning sensation (3.20%). Conclusions Tacrolimus eye drops are highly effective in treating refractory allergic conjunctivitis with proliferative lesions and/or corneal involvement, and may reduce or replace topical steroid use. Trial registration number UMIN 000008640. ER -