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Ten eyes from 10 patients with culture-proven keratitis that failed to improve after at least two weeks of topical antifungals received ALP to fluorescein-stained ulcer beds, then continued standard antifungals. Primary outcome assessed time to complete epithelial healing with resolution of stromal infiltration; secondary outcomes included BCVA change and adverse events. Complete closure and infiltration resolution occurred in 90% within two to four weeks, with no corneal melting, perforation, endothelial damage, or recurrence over follow-up.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/argon-laser-phototherapy-as-an-adjunctive-treatment-for-refractory-fungal-keratitis-a-retrospective-case-series/423082/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/argon-laser-phototherapy-as-an-adjunctive-treatment-for-refractory-fungal-keratitis-a-retrospective-case-series/423082.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"moss~","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-09-28",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":39},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Who were included in the retrospective case series?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The study included 10 eyes from 10 patients with culture-proven fungal keratitis that did not improve after at least two weeks of topical antifungals.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How was argon laser phototherapy applied in the study?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"ALP at 532 nm with specified settings was applied to the fluorescein-stained ulcer bed until mild stromal blanching or microcavitation was observed, after which standard topical antifungals were continued.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What were the main effectiveness and safety findings?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Nine of 10 eyes achieved complete epithelial closure with resolution of stromal infiltration within two to four weeks. No corneal melting, perforation, endothelial damage, or recurrence was observed during a mean follow-up of about 4.2 months.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},423082,1791341730,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":39,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":44,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},962090895452,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd","Review began 11/17/2025  \nReview ended 11/30/2025  \nPublished 12/04/2025  \n© Copyright 2025  \nPabon et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC-BY 4.0. , which permits unrestricted use , distribution , and reproduction in any medium , provided the original author and source are credited.  \nDOI: 10.7759/cureus.98465  \nOpen Access Original Article  \nArgon Laser Phototherapy as an Adjunctive Treatment for Refractory Fungal Keratitis: A Retrospective Case Series  \nAstrid Pabon 1, Norka Sánchez 2, Salomon Merikansky 3, Guillermo Amescua 4, C Rocha-de-Lossada 5  \n1. Ophthalmology, Centro de Investigaciones y Tratamiento Ocular, Buenos Aires, ARG 2. Ophthalmology, OftalmoSalud, Lima, PER 3. Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, USA 4. Ophthalmology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, USA 5. Ophthalmology, Vithas Almería Hospital, Almeria, ESP  \nCorresponding author: Norka Sánchez, [norka.ophthal@gmail.com](norka.ophthal@gmail.com)  \nAbstract  \nBackground  \nThis study aimed to evaluate the safety and clinical efficacy of argon laser phototherapy (ALP) as an adjunctive treatment for refractory fungal keratitis (FK) in a retrospective case series.  \nMethodology  \nThis retrospective case series included 10 eyes from 10 patients with culture-proven FK that failed to improve after ≥2 weeks of topical antifungals. All eyes underwent adjunctive ALP (532 nm, 200 µm, 0.1 seconds, 900-1200 mW) applied to the fluorescein-stained ulcer bed until mild stromal  \nblanching/microcavitation was observed. Standard topical antifungals were continued thereafter. The primary outcome was the time to complete epithelial healing with resolution of stromal infiltration. Secondary outcomes were the change in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and adverse events. Minimum follow-up was three months.  \nResults  \nThe mean age of the patients was 48.2 ± 11.6 years. Causative organisms included Fusarium (n = 5), Aspergillus (n = 3), and Candida (n = 2) . Complete epithelial closure and resolution of infiltration were achieved in nine (90%) eyes within two to four weeks (mean ± SD = 2 .6 ± 0.8 weeks) . One Fusarium ulcer required amniotic membrane grafting for final closure. The mean BCVA improved from 0.2 to 0.4 (decimal) at final follow-up (p = 0 .02) . No cases of corneal melting, perforation, endothelial damage, or recurrence were observed during a mean follow-up of 4 .2 ± 1.5 months.  \nConclusions  \nAdjunctive ALP is a safe, effective, and accessible technique for refractory FK. Its combination of localized fungicidal effect and enhanced stromal drug penetration may accelerate healing, improve visual outcomes, and reduce the need for surgical intervention.  \nCategories: Ophthalmology  \nKeywords: amniotic membrane, argon laser, fungal keratitis, intrastromal voriconazole, pack-cxl (comparison), phototherapy, therapeutic keratoplasty  \nIntroduction  \nFungal keratitis (FK) is a severe and potentially sight-threatening corneal infection that remains a major public health problem, especially in tropical and developing regions [1,2] . The disease is often associated with trauma from organic material, contact lens wear, or ocular surface disease, accounting for up to 60% of microbial keratitis cases in some endemic regions [3,4] . Despite advances in antifungal pharmacotherapy, the prognosis of FK remains guarded due to delayed diagnosis, poor drug penetration through intact epithelium and dense stroma, and the fungistatic rather than fungicidal action of most available agents.  \nConventional treatment relies mainly on topical polyenes, such as natamycin or amphotericin B, and onazoles, such as voriconazole or itraconazole. Yet, clinical failure rates remain high, with many cases  \nprogressing to corneal perforation or requiring keratoplasty [5,6] .  \nSeveral adjunctive and experimental modalities have been proposed to enh","cbCaiuWMEonJE6xn","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiuWMEonJE6xn","pdf",1723351,"English","# Abstract\n## Background\n## Methodology\n## Results\n## Conclusions\n# Introduction\n## Disease burden and conventional therapy\n## Adjunctive and experimental modalities\n# Materials And Methods\n## Study design","[{\"question\":\"Who were included in the retrospective case series?\",\"answer\":\"The study included 10 eyes from 10 patients with culture-proven fungal keratitis that did not improve after at least two weeks of topical antifungals.\"},{\"question\":\"How was argon laser phototherapy applied in the study?\",\"answer\":\"ALP at 532 nm with specified settings was applied to the fluorescein-stained ulcer bed until mild stromal blanching or microcavitation was observed, after which standard topical antifungals were continued.\"},{\"question\":\"What were the main effectiveness and safety findings?\",\"answer\":\"Nine of 10 eyes achieved complete epithelial closure with resolution of stromal infiltration within two to four weeks. No corneal melting, perforation, endothelial damage, or recurrence was observed during a mean follow-up of about 4.2 months.\"}]","Argon Laser Phototherapy as an Adjunctive Treatment for Refractory Fungal Keratitis - A Retrospective Case Series | PDF",1790630079,23]