Table 5. Summary of keratometric outcomes (Kmax flattening, stabilization rate) from representative studies on accelerated cross-linking protocols in progressive keratoconus.

A-CXL: accelerated corneal cross-linking; ATE-CXL: accelerated transepithelial corneal cross-linking (30 mW/cm2 × 3 min); cl-ACXL: continuous light-accelerated corneal cross-linking (12 mW/cm2 × 10 min); D: diopter; Kmax: maximum keratometry (the steepest corneal curvature measurement in diopters); mW/cm2: milliwatts per square centimeter; NR: not reported; NS: not significant (p-value > 0.05); pl-ACXL: pulsed light-accelerated corneal cross-linking (30 mW/cm2 × 4 min); PRK: photorefractive keratectomy; TE-CXL: transepithelial corneal cross-linking

Study	A-CXL Protocol	Kmax Change	Comparison	Timepoint	Stabilization Rate
Iqbal et al., 2019 [77]	30 mW/cm2 × 8 min pulsed + PRK	-2.40 ± 0.69 D (p < 0.001)	vs Dresden: -1.62 D (p < 0.05)	1 year	100% vs 100%
Iqbal et al., 2019 [77]	30 mW/cm2 × 8 min pulsed + PRK	-2.23 ± 0.56 D (p < 0.001)	vs Dresden: -2.03 D (NS)	2 years	100% vs 100%
Marafon et al., 2020 [27]	30 mW/cm2 × 8 min pulsed	-0.90 ± 3.12 D (p < 0.001)	vs Dresden: -0.68 D (NS)	6 months	96% vs 90%
Badawi, 2021 [67]	10 mW/cm2 × 9 min	-1.87 ± 0.32 D (p < 0.0001)	vs Dresden: -2.74 D (NS)	1 year	NR
Badawi, 2021 [67]	10 mW/cm2 × 9 min	-1.87 ± 0.32 D (p < 0.0001)	vs TE-CXL: -0.36 D (p < 0.0001)	1 year	NR
Ishii et al., 2022 [78]	ATE-CXL	–0.48 D (NS)	NR	3 years	88%
Yousif et al., 2023 [94]	pl-ACXL	-0.61 ± 3.73 D (NS)	vs cl-ACXL: -0.36 D (NS)	1 year	NR
Kandel et al., 2024 [24]	9 mW/cm2 × 10 min	+1.2 ± 2.7 (NS)	vs Dresden:  -1.8 D (p < 0.05)	5 years	73% vs 88%