Published in:
01-12-2005 | Clinical Investigation
Intravitreal dexamethasone as adjuvant in the treatment of postoperative endophthalmitis: a prospective randomized trial
Published in: Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology | Issue 12/2005
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Purpose
To study whether intravitreal dexamethasone as adjuvant to intravitreal antibiotics improves the outcome in patients with suspected postoperative bacterial endophthalmitis.
Design
Prospective randomized clinical trial.
Setting
Tertiary referral center.
Patient population
Twenty-nine consecutive patients with suspected postoperative bacterial endophthalmitis within 6 weeks of cataract surgery.
Intervention
Patients underwent a vitreous biopsy followed by intravitreal injection of antibiotics (0.2 mg vancomycin and 0.05 mg gentamicin) and 400 μg dexamethasone or placebo. After 3–4 days the intravitreal injection of antibiotics and dexamethasone or placebo was repeated
Primary outcome measure
Snellen visual acuity at 3 and 12 months after treatment.
Results
In 20/29 patients (69%) the vitreous cultures were positive. 13/29 patients received dexamethasone. Seven patients had a functionally lost eye (final vision of hand movements or less), in four due to retinal detachment. Visual acuity tended to be better in the dexamethasone treated patients than in those given placebo, at both 3 months (P=0.055) and 12 months (P=0.080).
Conclusion
This small prospective, placebo-controlled series showed a trend towards a better visual outcome in patients with suspected bacterial endophthalmitis when treatment with intravitreal antibiotics was combined with intravitreal dexamethasone. Our findings justify a larger multicenter randomized study.