Epidemic Keratoconjunctivitis: Drug Therapy

Therapeutic target

Freedom from symptoms

Therapy recommendations

  • Primarily, only symptomatic therapy with tear substitutes and morning eye cleansing is indicated. To do this, instruct the patient as follows: “Soak a cotton pad with boiled, lukewarm water and gently wipe out eyelid margins and eyelashes from outside to inside. Dispose of cotton pad afterwards, always use only once.”
  • In the presence of bacterial superinfection, antibiotics are indicated as eye drops/eye ointment:
    • In adults, the agents gentamycin, tobramycin and azithromycin are used; in severe cases: Fluoroquinolone (reserve drug).
    • For newborns is moxifloxacin, for children from the second year of life azithromycin the drug of choice.
    • For known pathogen type* :
      • Staphylococci, Enterobacteriaceae – aminoglycoside.
      • Incl. chlamydiae – gyrase inhibitor
      • Pseudomonas, gram-negative rods – polymyxin B
  • Therapeutic measures in special cases:
    • In rare cases, ganciclovir (antiviral) may be used to reduce viral load.
    • Ciclosporin (cyclosporin A) may be used locally for chronic subepithelial infiltrates (nummuli/small coin-shaped infiltrates in the superficial corneal stroma). There are no data on the dosage.
    • Glucocorticoid-containing eye drops are indicated only in uveitis (inflammation of the median eye skin, which consists of the choroid, the corpus ciliare, and the iris) or in severe formation of pseudomembranes.
    • Topical administration of interferon can be used for prophylaxis during epidemics, if necessary. There are no data on the dosage.
  • The applicability of antiseptics such as povidoneiodine or N-chlorotaurine has yet to be investigated in meaningful studies.

* Smear is mandatory in chronic courses, neonates and immunocompromised individuals.

Supplements (dietary supplements; vital substances)

Suitable dietary supplements for natural defense should contain the following vital substances:

Note: The listed vital substances are not a substitute for drug therapy. Food supplements are intended to supplement the general diet in the particular life situation.