Aims/Background: We evaluated the retinal toxicity of spartanamicin B and its efficacy in a rabbit model of Candidal endophthalmitis. Methods: Toxicity. Fourteen albino rabbit eyes were injected intravitreally with spartanamicin B (1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 μg) ; 2 eyes received the vehicle alone. Efficacy. Ten rabbit eyes were inoculated with 3000 Candida organisms which caused endophthalmitis in 24 hours. Eight eyes were treated with intravitreal spartanamicin B in doses of 1, 2, 5, or 10 μg/0.1 ml; 2 untreated eyes served as controls. Results: Toxicity. The eyes injected with ≤ 10 μg and the control group eyes exhibited no clinical, histological, or electroretinographic evidence of retinal toxicity. Doses > 10 μg caused vitritis. Efficacy. Clinical examination of the treated eyes showed a gradual improvement over 3–6 days; mild opacities remained until day 14. Results of cultures performed 15 days after infection were negative in all treated eyes. Conclusions: Intravitreally injected spartanamicin B (10 μg) is nontoxic to the retina, effective against C. albicans in the endophthalmitis model in the rabbit eye and caused no discernible histological changes in the retina.
Find this article in full text from Springer Verlag.