Combination therapy for dendritic keratitis with acyclovir and vidarabine

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Virology
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Dendritic keratitis is a viral infection of the cornea.
• Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a common cause of infectious keratitis.
• Antiviral therapies are crucial for managing herpetic eye disease.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of a combination therapy for dendritic keratitis.
• To compare the healing time of acyclovir ointment versus a combination of acyclovir and vidarabine ointments.
• To determine if the combination therapy reduces prolonged ulceration.

Main Methods:

• A randomized clinical trial involving 32 patients with dendritic keratitis.
• Treatment groups included acyclovir 3% ointment alone or in combination with vidarabine 3% ointment.
• Healing times and incidence of prolonged ulceration were recorded and analyzed.

Main Results:

• The combination group achieved an average healing time of 6 days, compared to 7.7 days for the acyclovir-alone group.
• Only one patient in the combination group experienced prolonged healing (>7 days), versus six in the acyclovir-alone group.
• The difference in healing times was statistically significant (p = 0.035).

Conclusions:

• Combination therapy with acyclovir and vidarabine ointments is more effective than acyclovir alone for treating dendritic keratitis.
• This combination therapy accelerates corneal healing and prevents prolonged ulceration.
• Vidarabine may enhance the efficacy of acyclovir in treating herpetic corneal infections.