Treatment of Severe Acute Bacterial Keratitis in Rabbits Using Continuous Topical Ocular Instillation with Norvancomycin

PURPOSE: Efficacy of norvancomycin (NVCM) through continuous topical ocular instillation drug delivery (CTOIDD) system for treating severe acute bacterial keratitis infection with Staphylococcus aureus was investigated. METHODS: Rabbits with bacterial keratitis were treated using CTOIDD with NVCM (n=13), topical NVCM eye drops (n=11), and CTOIDD with saline (n=8). Clinical signs of keratitis in all groups were assessed consecutively for a week. Bacterial quantification of excised corneas was counted on the fourth and eighth days. Histopathologic examinations were performed to assess inflammatory cell infiltration on the eighth day. RESULTS: All signs of bacterial keratitis were alleviated in CTOIDD with NVCM according to criteria, and the CTOIDD-NVCM group had significantly less inflammation than CTOIDD-saline (p<0.05), and eye drop-NVCM (p<0.05). Two eyes in the eye drop-NVCM group, four eyes in the CTOIDD-saline group had corneal perforation (CP), while none of the rabbits showed CP in the CTOIDD-NVCM group. Bacterial counts were significantly less in the CTOIDD with NVCM group in comparison to the eye drop-NVCM (p<0.05), and CTOIDD-saline (p<0.05) groups. Severe inflammation and marked inflammatory cell infiltration were found in histopathologic examinations in the CTOIDD-saline and eye drop-NVCM groups, while significantly less inflammation was documented in the CTOIDD-NVCM (p<0.05) group. CONCLUSION: CTOIDD with NVCM effectively reduced the severity and treated acute bacterial S. aureus keratitis infection in a rabbit model. The presented approach of CTOIDD with NVCM appears to be a promising therapeutic approach for severe acute bacterial keratitis.