ClinicalTrials.gg
TerminatedNCT05072977H-TransPKRUpdated Dec 8, 2025

Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK) : Comparison of Corneal Haze Between Two Modes of De-epithelialisation (Laser Versus Manual Alcohol)

An interventional study of TransPRK and Alcohol PRK in Myopia and Astigmatism, sponsored by Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe de Rothschild. Terminated at 1 site in France. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-12-08.

Sponsored by Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe de Rothschild · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Why this study was terminated
Recruitment difficulty
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
71
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

surgical correction of ametropia. A number of improvements have been introduced to overcome the side effects and complications such as corneal haze, epithelial irregularities induced by wound healing, pain and delayed visual acuity recovery associated with PRK surgery. During traditional PRK, the corneal epithelium is mechanically debrided before stromal ablation is performed. Alcohol PRK is frequently used as an alternative to mechanical epithelial debridement and is considered simpler and faster. Transepithelial PRK (TransPRK) is a new method in which the corneal epithelium is photoablated by the laser in one step using a specific ablation profile.

This study attempts to establish a means of quantitatively and objectively measuring corneal haze, using patented software based on optical coherence tomography (OCT) of the cornea. This will confirm or refute the hypothesis of a lower occurrence of corneal haze after TransPRK (experimental group) versus PRK with alcohol (control group). Each patient will have one eye randomised to one of the two groups being compared.

02

Conditions studied

  • Myopia
  • Astigmatism

Keywords

  • Myopia
  • Astigmatism
  • Corneal haze
  • Trans Photorefractive Keratectomy
  • Alcohol Photorefractive Keratectomy
03

In context

Myopia

1,159 studies on the registry are indexed under Myopia; 225 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 71 is close to the median of 78 across 923 interventional studies indexed under Myopia.

Browse Myopia studies →

Lead sponsor

Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe de Rothschild is the lead sponsor of 316 studies on the registry; 78 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Planned Photorefractive Keratectomy in both eyes
  • Simple myopia or myopic astigmatism, refractive spherical equivalent between -0.50 and -9.0 diopters in both eyes with regular corneal topography

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Only one eye operated on
  • At least one to refractive surgery, namely : keratoconus, minimum corneal thickness \< 400 µm, severe dry syndrome, progressive corneal infection
  • Personal history of corneal surgery
  • Personal history of ocular pathology other than simple myopia or myopic astigmatism
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding woman
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Participant)
Enrollment
71 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    TransPRK

    Procedure: TransPRK

  • Active comparator
    Alcohol PRK

    Procedure: Alcohol PRK

Interventions

  • ProcedureTransPRK

    A Merocel sponge is soaked in a saline solution to expand before being gently applied to the corneal surface in three gestures similar to painting. This standardised procedure avoids inhomogeneous wetting of the cornea, which would result in uneven ablation. The laser ablation is then performed.

  • ProcedureAlcohol PRK

    A ring is placed in the centre of the cornea and filled with 20% alcohol. After 20 seconds of exposure, the alcohol is absorbed with a small sponge and the corneal epithelium is debrided with a polyvinyl alcohol expanding sponge (Merocel, Medtronic). The entire cornea is rinsed with balanced salt solution and the epithelium is peeled away from the corneal stroma. The corneal bed is then dried with a small sponge and laser ablation is performed.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Corneal haze assessed with the the software analysing the corneal OCT images

    Corneal haze assessed by the intensity of the luminosity of the whole cornea (expressed as a percentage) evaluated by the software analysing the corneal OCT images.

    Time frame: 1 month after refractive surgery

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Hôpital Fondation A. de Rothschuld
    Paris, 75019, France
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Dec 8, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05072977
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Oct 11, 2021
Start date
Feb 9, 2022
Primary completion
Jun 5, 2023
Completion
Jul 10, 2024
Last update
Dec 8, 2025

Study contacts

Alain SAAD, MD
principal investigator · Hôpital Fondation A. de Rothschild

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is terminated, as verified in Dec 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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