Fluorometholone acetate. A new ophthalmic derivative of fluorometholone.

Hourly topical administration of 0.1% fluorometholone acetate ophthalmic suspension produced, on the average, a 47% reduction in the polymorphonuclear leukocytes invading the cornea during an experimentally induced inflammatory keratitis. This is a significantly greater anti-inflammatory effect than we have previously reported for the alcohol derivative of fluorometholone and is not significantly different from the therapeutic effect of 1.0% prednisolone acetate ophthalmic suspension, the most effective corneal anti-inflammatory agent that we have studied to date. Fluorometholone acetate (0.1%) formulated as a high-viscosity carbomer gel and applied at three-hour intervals reduced invading leukocytes in the cornea an average of 48%, an effect not significantly different from hourly administration of the suspension.