Differential aqueous and vitreous concentrations of moxifloxacin and ofloxacin after topical administration one hour before vitrectomy.

PURPOSE

To investigate the penetration of ofloxacin and moxifloxacin into the aqueous and vitreous after topical administration one hour before vitrectomy surgery.

DESIGN

Prospective, randomized, double-blind case series study.

METHODS

Twenty-seven patients undergoing vitrectomy were randomized to receive either topical ofloxacin 0.3% or moxifloxacin 0.5% every 10 minutes for one hour before surgery. Aqueous and vitreous samples were obtained and analyzed using high-performance liquidation chromatography.

RESULTS

The moxifloxacin aqueous (1.576 +/- 0.745 microg/ml) and vitreous (0.225 +/- 0.013 microg/ml) levels were significantly higher than the ofloxacin aqueous (0.816 +/- 0.504 microg/ml) (P = .0009) and vitreous (0.225 +/- 0.013 microg/ml) [P = .0054] levels, respectively. The mean moxifloxacin aqueous and vitreous levels exceeded the minimum inhibitory concentration for 90% of isolates (MIC(90)) for a wide variety of bacteria implicated in endophthalmitis. In contrast, the aqueous level of ofloxacin exceeded the MIC(90) of only a few organisms.

CONCLUSIONS

Moxifloxacin applied every 10 minutes during the hour before vitrectomy penetrated the eye significantly better than ofloxacin.