Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose:To educate the ophthalmologist as to how to assess existing and future topical antibiotics so that one can determine when and how to best use the new generation of fluoroquinolones rather than being vulnerable to fancy marketing schemes. Methods:Existing data on second, third and fourth generation fluoroquinolones was meta-analyzed to assess Inhibitory Quotient (IQ), Time Kill Curves (TKC), and Post-antibiotic Effect (PAE). Results:Ocular surface and in the corneal stroma IQ's are superior for second generation ciprofloxacin and fourth generation moxifloxacin and to a lesser extent gatifloxacin. TKC's are similarly superior for these three antibiotics with moxi performing the best for gram positives and Cipro for gram negatives. PAE data is just now emerging but is not yet fully analyzable. Conclusion:There are many potential advantages of fourth generation fluoroquinolones over prior generations; however, exactly when and how to use which fluoroquinolone should be significantly influenced by standard in-vitro analyses.
Keywords: 319 antibiotics/antifungals/antiparasitics • 545 refractive surgery: complications • 390 drug toxicity/drug effects