The effect of trauma on the ocular penetration of intravenous ciprofloxacin

PURPOSE: To study the intraocular pharmacokinetics of intravenously administered ciprofloxacin following eye trauma. METHODS: Twenty-three New Zealand albino rabbits and 12 Yorkshire pigs each received a surgically induced scleral injury to the right eye. Following repair, each rabbit received a single 30-mg intravenous infusion of ciprofloxacin. Each pig received either two 200-mg doses or two 400-mg doses of intravenous ciprofloxacin given 12 hours apart. Vitreous and serum samples were harvested at 0.5, 1, 4, 6, and 12 hours after antibiotic administration in rabbits and 1 hour after the second dose in pigs. Bioassays for ciprofloxacin were performed on each sample, and results were statistically compared by t test. The untraumatized left eye in each animal served as a control. RESULTS: The mean vitreous concentration of ciprofloxacin in traumatized rabbit eyes was 0.37 mu g/ml. This level was sustained above levels in control eyes (0.18 mu g/ml) for at least 4 hours following antibiotic administration. In control eyes, intravitreal levels peaked at 1 hour. Mean vitreous concentrations +/- SD in traumatized pig eyes were 0.091 +/- 0.017 mu g/ml in swine that had received 200-mg doses of ciprofloxacin vs 0.312 +/- 0.153 mu g/ml in swine that had received 400-mg doses (P =.02). Mean vitreous concentrations of ciprofloxacin in control eyes were not affected by increasing dosage. CONCLUSION: In both animal models, experimental surgical trauma increased intravitreal ciprofloxacin delivery. In addition, systemically administered ciprofloxacin achieved intravitreous levels exceeding minimum inhibitory concentrations for common ocular pathogens, suggesting a role for ciprofloxacin in the prophylaxis of posttraumatic endophthalmitis.