Penetration of ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin in aqueous humor after topical administration

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To compare the aqueous humor levels of 0.3% ofloxacin and 0.3% ciprofloxacin containing eyedrops in patients with healthy cornea. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty patients with cataract were randomly assigned to have 0.3% ofloxacin containing eyedrop (25 patients) or 0.3% ciprofloxacin containing eyedrop (25 patients). Both drugs were repetitively instilled to each patient for 6 hours before the surgery. Aqueous samples were collected after penetrating the anterior chamber during cataract extraction and assayed by high-performance liquid chromatography method. RESULTS: The aqueous humor level of ofloxacin (1.43 +/- 0.26 mu g/ml, mean +/- SEM) was significantly higher than that of ciprofloxacin (0.35 +/- 0.07 mu g/ml) following the topical application (P < .0002). CONCLUSION: Aqueous humor penetration of topical ofloxacin is about 4 times higher than that of topical ciprofloxacin when the drugs are applied as described above.