Treatment of blepharitis and blepharoconjunctivitis: comparison of gentamicin-betamethasone, gentamicin alone and placebo

Abstract

At two university centres 46 patients presenting with symptomatic infective blepharitis or blepharoconjunctivitis participated in a double-blind study of a new antibiotic-steroid ointment containing gentamicin and betamethasone. There was no significant difference in response to 2 weeks of therapy between the patients treated with this ointment and those treated with either an ointment containing gentamicin alone or a placebo ointment. There was also no significant correlation between the clinical response and the results of the bacterial cultures of swabs obtained at the beginning and the end of the study. However, the patients treated with the placebo had a much higher rate of recurrence of their symptoms over a 6-week follow-up period. The patients who before treatment had associated rosacea, dry eyes and a long duration of symptoms showed a poor response to therapy.