Corneal staining after treatment with topical tetracycline

PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to report a case of corneal staining after treatment with topical tetracycline. METHODS: A patient with crystalline keratopathy caused by Streptococcus viridans after corneal transplantation was treated topically with tetracycline eye drops, based on results of bacterial sensitivity testing. After 3 weeks of intensive treatment, the donor cornea was stained with a brownish hue, which was ascribed to the tetracycline drops. RESULTS: One patient with crystalline keratopathy developed corneal staining after intensive treatment with topical tetracycline eye drops. After a year of follow-up, the staining of the cornea had not changed significantly. CONCLUSION: Hourly topical tetracycline eye drops may induce corneal pigmentation. To our knowledge, this is the first published case report of corneal staining caused by tetracycline eye drops.