A COMPARISON OF CIPROFLOXACIN AND TOBRAMYCIN IN BACTERIAL CONJUNCTIVITIS IN CHILDREN

A study was conducted to determine the safety and efficacy of topicall y applied ciprofloxacin ophthalmic solution in a pediatric population experiencing acute bacterial conjunctivitis. Topically applied ciprofl oxacin (3mg/mL) is known to be a safe and effective treatment for adul ts suffering from bacterial conjunctivitis; however, the safety and ef fectiveness of this broad-spectrum fluoroquinolone in pediatric patien ts is not well established, Ciprofloxacin was evaluated in a double-bl ind, randomized, controlled study of 257 patients ranging from 0 (i.e. , less than 1 year) to 12 years of age from 33 geographically diverse medical centers. The children received either 0.3% ciprofloxacin ophth almic solution (Ciloxan(TM), Alcon Laboratories, Fort Worth, TX) or to bramycin ophthalmic solution (Tobrex(TM), Alcon Laboratories, Fort Wor th, TX), Both test medications were administered topically every 2 hou rs on days 1 and 2 followed by every 4 hours on days 3 through 7, Eyes were cultured prior to enrollment and again on day 7. Treatment effic acy as determined by microbiological culture data and physicians' judg ment of overall resolution was similar for the ciprofloxacin and tobra mycin groups. Microbiological eradication tvas observed in 90.1% of th e ciprofloxacin group and 84.3% of the tobramycin group (P = 0.29). Ph ysicians judged 87.0% of the ciprofloxacin patients and 89.9% of the t obramycin patients clinically cured on day 7 (P>0.5) There were no ser ious adverse medical events attributable to either treatment, This stu dy showed that topically applied ciprofloxacin ophthalmic solution is safe and effective in a pediatric population experiencing acute bacter ial conjunctivitis.