Intravitreal Infliximab Injection to Treat Experimental Endophthalmitis/Deneysel Endoftalmi Tedavisinde Intravitreal Infliksimab

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the use of an intravitreal injection of infliximab and of dexamethasone combined with vancomycin to treat experimental endophthalmitis induced by Staphylococcus epidermidis. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted between March 25 and April 13, 2012. Twenty-five six-monthold healthy rabbits were used, each weighing 2.5-3 kg. The rabbits were randomized into five groups with five animals per group. Endophthalmitis was induced by 0.1 mL (103 colony-forming units) S. epidermidis in all groups. In group 1, injection was not implemented after the occurrence of endophthalmitis. In groups 2, 3, and 4, the following intravitreal injections were given 24 h after the occurrence of endophthalmitis: group 2, 0.1 mg/0.1 mL vancomycin; group 3, 1 mg/0.1 mL vancomycin and 1 mg/0.1 mL dexamethasone; and group 4, 1 mg/0.1 mL vancomycin and 2 mg/0.1 mL infliximab. Group 5 was the control/uninfected group. The rabbits were clinically assessed each day for seven days. On day 9, a histopathologic evaluation was performed after enucleation. Results: After a clinical evaluation, no statistically significant difference was found between the vancomycinv + infliximab and vancomycin + dexamethasone groups (p>0.05). The difference was significant when both groups were compared with the vancomycin group (p0.05). Conclusion: An intravitreal injection of infliximab and of dexamethasone combined with vancomycin have similar clinical and histopathologic effects. To supplement the antibiotic treatment of endophthalmitis, infliximab in a safe dose range can be used as an alternative to dexamethasone to suppress inflammation and prevent ocular damage. Keywords: Infliximab, dexamethasone, vancomycin, staphylococcus epidermidis, endophthalmitis OZ Amac: Bu calismada tavsanlarda Stafilokok epidermidis ile olusturulan deneysel endoftalmilerde vankomisin ile kombine; intravitreal infliksimab ile intravitreal deksametazonun etkinliklerinin karsilastirilmasi amaclanmistir Gerec ve Yontem: Calisma 25 Mart 2012-13 Nisan 2012 tarihleri arasinda uygulandi. Calismada; 6 aylik, 2, 5-3 kg agirliginda, 25 adet saglikli tavsan kullanildi. Denekler herbiri 5 tavsandan olujan 5 gruba ayrildi. Grup 1'e; 0,lmL (103 Colony Forming Units) Stafilokok epidermidis ile endoftalmi olusturulduktan sonra herhangi bir tedavi uygu-lanmadi. Gru