THE EFFECTIVENESS OF 2 CIPROFLOXACIN FORMULATIONS FOR EXPERIMENTAL PSEUDOMONAS AND STAPHYLOCOCCUS-KERATITIS

Ciprofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic with broad spectrum bact ericidal activity. A commercially available form of ciprofloxacin cont ains benzalkonium chloride (BAC) (0.006%) and EDTA (0.05%) as preserva tives. Since BAG has been shown to cause adverse changes in corneal ep ithelial cells, a formulation of ciprofloxacin devoid of BAC and EDTA but with the same effectiveness would be valuable. We present here the results of experiments designed to assess the efficacy of a BAC-free and EDTA-free formulation of ciprofloxacin, Ciprofloxacin-polystyrene sulfonate (PSS), in experimental models of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureas keratitis, Both formulations of ciprofloxacin st erilized corneas infected with P aeruginosa, and both formulations sho wed equal bactericidal activity for S aureus, Normal eyes treated with either formulation showed mild conjunctival irritation compared to un treated normal eyes. The bactericidal activities of both formulations of ciprofloxacin were excellent, Therefore, the Ciprofloxacin-PSS form ulation could serve as an effective single drug therapy for ocular inf ections.