Treatment of chronic staphylococcal blepharoconjunctivitis with a new topical steroid anti-infective ophthalmic solution.

Gentamicin sulfate and betamethasone phosphate were combined in solution form for topical ophthalmic use in patients with chronic staphylococcal blepharoconjunctivitis. The study involved 79 patients and was a two-week double-blind placebo controlled trial comparing the combination with its individual components and placebo. Lid cultures showed that the combination and gentamicin were significantly superior to placebo or betamethasone in freeing the lids of staphylococcus. In addition, the patients treated with either the combination or betamethasone showed greater improvement in the total objective signs than those patients treated with either gentamicin or placebo at the first follow-up visit. No drug-related adverse reactions occurred in the combination treatment group.