Pharmacokinetics of intravitreal antibiotics in endophthalmitis

Intravitreal antibiotics are the mainstay of treatment in the management of infectious endophthalmitis. Basic knowledge of the commonly used intravitreal antibiotics, which includes their pharmacokinetics, half-life, duration of action and clearance, is essential for elimination of intraocular infection without any iatrogenic adverse effect to the ocular tissue. Various drugs have been studied over the past century to achieve this goal. We performed a comprehensive review of the antibiotics which have been used for intravitreal route and the pharmacokinetic factors influencing the drug delivery and safety profile of these antibiotics. Using online resources like PubMed and Google Scholar, articles were reviewed. The articles were confined to the English language only. We present a broad overview of pharmacokinetic concepts fundamental for use of intravitreal antibiotics in endophthalmitis along with a tabulated compendium of the intravitreal antibiotics using available literature. Recent advances for increasing bioavailability of antibiotics to the posterior segment with the development of controlled drug delivery devices are also described.