title: Effect of ketorolac on herpes simplex virus type one ocular infection in rabbits.
abstract: Corticosteroids can exacerbate viral ocular infections. Ketorolac tromethamine is an effective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent that may be a useful substitute for corticosteroids following ocular surgery. In this study, rabbits ocularly infected with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) were treated topically four times daily with 0.5 percent ketorolac or 0.1 percent dexamethasone for 7 days after infection. Severity of the infection was determined by scoring corneal opacity and HSV-1 corneal ulcerations with the Draize scale as well as iritis and conjunctivitis. Ten days after treatment ended both the corneal opacity scores (1.5 out of 4) and HSV-1 corneal ulcerations (0.3 to 0.7 out of 4) were similar for ketorolac and the vehicle, indicating no exacerbation of the infection, whereas with dexamethasone these scores were increased (3.6/4 and 3.4/4, respectively). Furthermore, both iritis scores (0.5/2) and conjunctivitis scores (1.3 to 1.4/10) were also similar for ketorolac and the vehicle, while dexamethasone increased both iritis (1.8/2) and conjunctivitis (4.3/10) compared to vehicle. Thus, ketorolac appears to be an anti-inflammatory agent that does not worsen viral ocular infection.
authors.affiliation: Syntex Research, Department of Antimicrobial Research, Palo Alto, California.
authors.forename: E B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Fraser-Smith
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Matthews
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D000818:Animals; D003231:Conjunctivitis / Q000473:pathology; D003318:Corneal Opacity / Q000473:pathology; D003320:Corneal Ulcer / Q000473:pathology; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004338:Drug Combinations / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007500:Iritis / Q000473:pathology; D007635:Keratitis, Dendritic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D020911:Ketorolac Tromethamine; D008297:Male; D011758:Pyrroles / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011817:Rabbits; D013997:Time Factors; D014046:Tolmetin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014325:Tromethamine / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D004338:Drug Combinations; D011758:Pyrroles; D014325:Tromethamine; D020911:Ketorolac Tromethamine; D003907:Dexamethasone; D014046:Tolmetin