Herpetic Eye Disease Study: A Controlled Trial of Topical Corticosteroids for Herpes Simplex Stromal Keratitis.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of topical corticosteroids in treating herpes simplex stromal keratitis.

Methods: The authors performed a randomized, double-masked, placebo-con- trolled, multicenter clinical trial of 106 patients with active herpes simplex stromal keratitis who had not received any corticosteroids for at least 10 days before study enrollment. Patients were assigned to the placebo group (n = 49) or the steroid group (topical prednisolone phosphate; n = 57); both regimens were tapered over 10 weeks.

Slitlamp biomicroscopy and photographic image analysis of herpes simplex virus stromal keratitis.

Objective: To validate photographic bioimaging for evaluating the severity of herpes simplex virus keratitis.

Methods: Stromal keratitis of patients in the Herpetic Eye Disease Study was clinically measured with a slitbeam micrometer and then photographed at trial entry. Calibrated images of 169 eyes were analyzed for the size, location, and density of stromal keratitis and endotheliitis, with shape factor as a function of area and perimeter.

Corneal thickness changes during herpes simplex virus disciform keratitis.

Objective: To describe the changes in corneal thickness determined by ultrasonic pachymetry during follow-up of herpes simplex virus disciform corneal edema.

Methods: Thirty-five patients with herpetic keratitis underwent slit-lamp biomicroscopy and ultrasonic pachymetry. Measurements during follow-up and at clinical resolution of corneal inflammation were compared with the initial corneal thickness.

Risk factors for herpes simplex virus epithelial keratitis recurring during treatment of stromal keratitis or iridocyclitis. Herpetic Eye Disease Study Group.

Aims: Possible risk factors were evaluated for herpes simplex virus (HSV) epithelial keratitis in patients with stromal keratouveitis.

Methods: The study population included 260 patients who had active stromal keratitis and/or iridocyclitis without epithelial disease and who were enrolled in one of three clinical trials of the Herpetic Eye Disease Study. Study treatment involved a 10 week course of topical placebo, topical prednisolone phosphate, or topical prednisolone phosphate with oral acyclovir.

Comparison of ciprofloxacin ophthalmic solution 0.3% to fortified tobramycin-cefazolin in treating bacterial corneal ulcers. Ciprofloxacin Bacterial Keratitis Study Group.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to compare the clinical efficacy and safety of ciprofloxacin ophthalmic solution 0.3% (Ciloxan) with a standard therapy regimen (fortified tobramycin, 1.3%-cefazolin, 5.

Herpetic Eye Disease Study. A controlled trial of topical corticosteroids for herpes simplex stromal keratitis.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of topical corticosteroids in treating herpes simplex stromal keratitis.

Methods: The authors performed a randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical trial of 106 patients with active herpes simplex stromal keratitis who had not received any corticosteroids for at least 10 days before study enrollment. Patients were assigned to the placebo group (n = 49) or the steroid group (topical prednisolone phosphate; n = 57); both regimens were tapered over 10 weeks.

Herpetic Eye Disease Study. A controlled trial of oral acyclovir for herpes simplex stromal keratitis.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of oral acyclovir in treating stromal keratitis caused by herpes simplex virus (HSV) in patients receiving concomitant topical corticosteroids and trifluridine.

Methods: The authors performed a randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial in 104 patients with HSV stromal keratitis without accompanying HSV epithelial keratitis. Sample size was chosen so that a 5%, one-tailed test would have an 80% chance of detecting a doubling of the median time to treatment failure.

Penetrating keratoplasty and intraocular lens exchange: open-loop anterior chamber lenses versus sutured posterior chamber lenses.

Penetrating keratoplasty with intraocular lens (IOL) exchange is generally recommended for eyes with pseudophakic bullous keratopathy, especially when the keratopathy is associated with uveitis, chronic cystoid macular edema, or a uveitis-glaucoma-hyphema syndrome. Review of the literature has shown basically equivalent long-term results of penetrating keratoplasty and IOL exchange using both Kelman-style, flexible, open-loop anterior chamber lenses and acapsular fixation of sutured posterior chamber lenses. The use of suture-fixated posterior chamber IOLs appears warranted in centers where the surgeon has extensive experience with this specific technique and in cases with special indications, for example, in eyes with extensive angle abnormalities.

Trabeculectomy for traumatic hyphema with increased intraocular pressure.

We reviewed the medical records of 11 consecutive patients who underwent trabeculectomy with anterior chamber washout and peripheral iridectomy as the primary surgical treatment for traumatic hyphema that was unresponsive to medical management. The mean intraocular pressure before surgery was 48 mm Hg. In ten of the patients the intraocular pressure was lowered to 21 mm Hg or lower after surgery and remained below that level up to the most recent follow-up visit, which ranged from eight to 97 months.

0.3% ciprofloxacin ophthalmic ointment in the treatment of bacterial keratitis. The Ciprofloxacin Ointment/Bacterial Keratitis Study Group.

Objective: To determine the efficacy and safety of topical 0.3% ciprofloxacin hydrochloride ophthalmic ointment in the treatment of bacterial keratitis.

Design: Prospective case series with a nonrandomized comparison of culture-positive, evaluable cases (ciprofloxacin ointment group) with culture-positive, concurrent patients (nonenrolled group) treated with conventional therapy.

Contact lens-related infectious keratitis.

Infectious keratitis is the most serious complication of contact lens use. Virtually all contact lens wearers are at risk. Initial therapy consists of frequent broad-spectrum fortified antibiotic drops after appropriate laboratory workup.

Infectious conjunctivitis.

This article is designed to aid the clinician in the diagnosis of bacterial and viral conjunctivitis by evaluating a wide variety of infectious causes of conjunctivitis. The work-up, including techniques of examination and pertinent laboratory studies, is discussed. Clinical features of each type are covered at length and specific therapy for each is included.

Blastomycosis of the eyelid and conjunctiva.

A 37-year-old man with a recurrent papillomatous lesion of the upper eyelid and four separate bulbar conjunctival ulcers was found to have North American blastomycosis. This represents the first reported case with conjunctival lesions that were not simply contiguous with eyelid involvement. This case underscores the importance of considering blastomycosis in the differential diagnosis of granulomatous conjunctivitis and when examining a lesion of the eyelid resembling a squamous cell carcinoma or atypical papilloma.

The role of viscoelastics, cannulas, and irrigating solution additives in post-cataract surgery corneal edema: a brief review.

Corneal clarity is dependent upon maintenance of the corneal endothelial barrier and pump. Mechanical trauma is usually considered to be the most significant factor in corneal endothelial damage during cataract surgery resulting in postoperative corneal edema. However, corneal decompensation out of proportion to the degree of trauma seen during surgery does occur.

Overview of the corneal toxicity of surgical solutions and drugs: and clinical concepts in corneal edema.

Surgical solutions and drugs are important in ocular surgery. These include irrigating solutions, viscoelastic substances, mydriatics and miotics, and a growing number of other agents designed to enhance intraocular surgery and its outcome. Potential for damage to the corneal endothelium and other tissues is related to the chemical composition, pH, and osmolality of the irrigating solutions that bathe tissues.

Insights from experimental data on ciprofloxacin in the treatment of bacterial keratitis and ocular infections.

Ciprofloxacin is a potent fluoroquinolone antibiotic with in vitro activity against many significant gram-positive and gram-negative ocular pathogens. A review of the experimental studies of this antibiotic shows bactericidal activity, a broad antimicrobial spectrum, and a low incidence of resistance. The growing body of experimental data supports the effectiveness of ciprofloxacin in the treatment of experimental keratitis and suggest that it be evaluated further in ocular infections.

Efficacy and safety of mercuric oxide in the treatment of bacterial blepharitis.

A double-masked, placebo-controlled, randomized study was done to assess the safety and clinical and quantitative microbiologic efficacy of 1% mercuric oxide (yellow) ophthalmic ointment in the treatment of eyelid infections, i.e., bacterial blepharitis.

Filter-culture technique using amoeba saline transport medium for the noninvasive diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis.

Acanthamoeba, a common free-living amoeba, is increasingly incriminated as a cause of keratitis and corneal ulceration. Between March 1986 and July 1988, specimens from seven patients submitted by ophthalmologists to the City of Milwaukee Health Department's Bureau of Laboratories were culture positive for Acanthamoeba. All patients were contact lens wearers.

Penetrating keratoplasty and intraocular lens exchange for pseudophakic bullous keratopathy associated with a closed-loop anterior chamber intraocular lens.

We reviewed the records of 20 consecutive eyes with pseudophakic bullous keratopathy associated with a closed-loop anterior chamber lens that underwent penetrating keratoplasty, total anterior vitrectomy, and anterior chamber intraocular lens exchange. On reexamination, all corneal grafts had remained clear during an average follow-up period of 15 months (range, four to 45 months). Seven eyes (35%) attained a visual acuity of 20/40 or better with spectacle correction; however, 15 of 20 eyes (75%) attained a best-corrected visual acuity of 20/40 or better using a pinhole and a gas-permeable contact lens.

Fortified antibiotic ointment in bacterial keratitis.

We conducted experiments to determine the effectiveness of fortified antibiotic ointment in the treatment of Pseudomonas keratitis in rabbits. We evaluated gentamicin ointment (3, 10, 20, and 40 mg/g), gentamicin solution (3 and 10 mg/ml), and placebo, each given every 30 minutes. We also examined the effectiveness of fortified ointment given in extended treatment intervals.