Purpose To evaluate aqueous humour levels of: topical 0.3% ciprofloxacin an
d 0.3% ofloxacin in the same subjects,
Methods Thirty-two bilateral cataractous patients received topical 0.3% cip
rofloxacin in one eye and 0.3% ofloxacin in the other eye before each catar
act extraction, Eyedrops were repetitively instilled for 6 h. Aqueous humou
r samples were collected and assayed for drug concentrations by a method de
scribed originally by us using high-performance liquid chromatography.
Results Mean aqueous ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin levels were 0.33 +/- 0.04
mu g/ml (mean +/- SEM) and 1.34 +/- 0.14 mu g/ml respectively (p<0.0001).
Conclusion Ofloxacin level in the aqueous humour is 4 times higher than tha
t of ciprofloxacin in the same subjects.