Corneal penetration of levofloxacin into the human aqueous humour: a comparison with ciprofloxacin

Abstract

Purpose: To compare aqueous humour levels of levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin following topical application to patients scheduled for cataract surgery.

Methods: A total of 59 patients undergoing cataract surgery were randomly assigned to topical treatment with either levofloxacin 0.5% or ciprofloxacin 0.3% eye drops, at one drop every 15 min for four doses immediately prior to surgery. Aqueous humour samples were collected by paracentesis and analysed for drug content.

Results: The (geometric) mean aqueous humour concentration of levofloxacin was 0.728 microg/ml; that of ciprofloxacin was 0.080 microg/ml.

Conclusions: Levofloxacin achieves 9.1 times the aqueous humour concentration of ciprofloxacin. It could be considered a better choice than ofloxacin or ciprofloxacin for topical ophthalmic use.