Novel Combined Lidocaine/Povidone Iodine Delivery System for Preintravitreal Injection

Intravitreal injection has become a popular treatment for various retina disorders and dramatically increased over the past few years. In traditional preintravitreal injection, the preparation steps are time consuming for practitioners who perform a significant number of injections per day. Besides, lidocaine gel (L-Gel) shows a potential absorption barrier on the antibacterial effect of povidone iodine (PI). In this study, we describe a L/PI gel system as an alternative approach to address these issues for traditional preinjection drug administration. Lidocaine and PI are loaded in a thermoresponsive gel instilled as a liquid to the lower fornix that transitions to a stable, solid gel depot. The gel demonstrated decrease in conjunctival touch sensitivity and sufficient bacteria killing with a single step, suggesting a significant decrease in the time required and less potential for drug inhibition due to sequential administration.