Penetration of oral and topical ciprofloxacin into human aqueous humor

Purpose: This study was planned to investigate the penetration of ciproflox acin into aqueous humor following oral and topical application as a prophyl actic antimicrobial agent. Methods: Forty-six patients undergoing cataract surgery were randomly divid ed into two groups. In the first group, the patients received 500 mg oral c iprofloxacin eight hours before surgery and in the second, 5 drops of 0.3% ciprofloxacin were applied to the patients every twenty minutes, starting 1 00 minutes before the surgery, By paracentesis, aqueous samples were taken just before the operation so the interval between the first topical applica tion and paracentesis was 100 minutes. Results: The mean concentration of ciprofloxacin in aqueous humor was 0.63 +/- 0.29 mu g/ml in the first group. The concentration was 0.69 +/- 0.30 mu g/ml in the second group. Both of these mean concentrations were higher th an the levels of MIC90 of S.aureus, S, epidermidis, P. aeruginosa and Gram (-) bacteriae, Conclusion: As a result, both topically and orally applied ciprofloxacin ac hieved a significant aqueous concentration. Each route studied might be sui table for surgical prophylaxis or treatment of infections.