Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2020 Jan 17:17:100582.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajoc.2019.100582. eCollection 2020 Mar.

Aqueous penetration of topical tacrolimus

Samir S Shoughy  1 , Faisal M Aljassar  1 , Khalid F Tabbara  1   2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Aqueous penetration of topical tacrolimus

Samir S Shoughy et al. Am J Ophthalmol Case Rep. .

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the penetration of topical tacrolimus 0.05% into the aqueous humor.

Observations: A total of four patients scheduled for routine cataract surgery were included prospectively. We excluded patients with corneal pathology or ocular surface diseases. Topical tacrolimus 0.05% was compounded at our facility. It was dosed every 1 min for 5 min an hour before the aqueous was sampled. Aqueous samples were collected at the time of cataract surgery and were subjected to detection of presence and level of tacrolimus. There were 2 male and 2 female patients. The age range was 58-73 years with a mean age of 66 years. Tacrolimus was detected in the aqueous humor in all patients. The concentration of tacrolimus in the aqueous ranged from 2.6 to 5.6 ng/ml (mean 4.15 ± 1.18 ng/ml). In all patients, the aqueous tacrolimus concentration was greater than the minimal therapeutic level. The study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (registration number is NCT02794610).

Conclusions and importance: Tacrolimus was detected in the aqueous humor following topical application. Topical tacrolimus may be a promising steroid-sparing modality for the treatment of anterior uveitis.

Keywords: Ocular inflammation; Ocular penetration; Topical tacrolimus.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The following authors have no financial disclosures: SS,FJ, KT.

References

    1. Shoughy S.S. Topical tacrolimus in anterior segment inflammatory disorders. Eye Vis. 2017;4:7. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mochizuki M., Masuda K., Sakane T. A multicenter clinical open trial of FK506 in refractory uveitis, including Behcet's disease. Transplant Proc. 1991;23:3343–3346. - PubMed
    1. Ishioka M., Ohno S., Nakamura S. FK506 treatment of noninfectious uveitis. Am J Ophthalmol. 1994;118:723–729. - PubMed
    1. Sloper C.M., Powell R.J., Dua H.S. Tacrolimus (FK506) in the treatment of posterior uveitis refractory to cyclosporine. Ophthalmology. 1999;106:723–728. - PubMed
    1. Shoughy S.S., Jaroudi M.O., Tabbara K.F. Efficacy and safety of low-dose topical tacrolimus in vernal keratoconjunctivitis. Clin Ophthalmol. 2016;10:643–647. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data