A COMPARATIVE STUDY TO EVALUATE EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF TOPICAL CIPROFLOXACIN V/S FORTIFIED GENTAMICIN-CEFTAZIDIME IN BACTERIAL KERATITIS” AT A TERTIARY CARE CENTRE IN TELANGANA

Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of topical ciprofloxacin v/s fortified gentamicin-ceftazidime in bacterial keratitis. Methods: This was a randomized control trial done on 60 subjects with 30 subjects in each group. The clinical signs and symptoms are recorded in two groups of bacterial keratitis patients at baseline and after 2 w of treatment using ciprofloxacin ophthalmic solution and standard therapy regimen of fortified gentamicin-ceftazidime using scoring of ocular signs and symptoms (1=minimum, not present), (5=maximum, severe) with a study period of 3 mo Results: The group administered with fortified ceftazidime+gentamicin demonstrated superior clinical and statistical efficacy compared to ciprofloxacin in treating bacterial keratitis. This regimen led to a substantial alleviation of symptoms and minimized ocular discomfort to a greater extent. Notably, the calculated p-value for the day 14 score, standing at 0.02 (below the 0.05 threshold), underscores the significant superiority of fortified ceftazidime+gentamicin in symptom reduction. Conclusion: We conclude that fortified ceftazidime+gentamicin is better than ciprofloxacin for the treatment of bacterial keratitis.