Trachoma: Can trichiasis be treated with a sticking-plaster? A randomized clinical trial in China

Trachoma is the most frequent cause of preventable blindness in the world. At the trichiasis/entropion stage, lid surgery is recommended, but many pat ients only use epilation, which does not prevent loss of vision. We develop ed a new treatment that should be more accessible than lid surgery and more effective than epilation: a sticking plaster that forces eyelashes back to their correct position. The first randomized controlled trial was conducte d in Shanghai with 57 patients to compare the plaster method with epilation . After 3 months of follow-up, with no attrition, 67% of those treated by t he new method presented a good clinical status, vs none of those treated by epilation (P < 0.001). The new treatment was well tolerated and lid functi on remained normal. Although our results show overwhelming benefit of this new, simple treatment for trachoma at the trichiasis stage, more research i s needed at the primary health care level and in other settings to determin e the potential use of the new method on a large scale and by nonspecialist s.