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Study: Azithromycin enhances benefit of warm compresses among patients with blepharitis
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Combining azithromycin ophthalmic solution with warm compresses may help treat patients with posterior blepharitis significantly better than warm compresses alone, a randomized study found.
Jodi Luchs, MD, compared the efficacy of topical AzaSite (azithromycin ophthalmic solution 1%, Inspire Pharmaceuticals) combined with warm compresses to the application of warm compresses alone among 21 patients with posterior blepharitis. Specifically, 10 patients were randomly assigned to receive azithromycin and warm compresses, and 11 patients were assigned to receive compresses alone; one patient was lost to follow-up. Azithromycin patients received one drop twice daily for 2 days, followed by one daily drop for 12 days thereafter.
All patients applied compresses to each eye for 5 to 10 minutes twice daily for 14 days, after which they were asked to rate the degree of symptomatic relief.
At 14-day follow-up, Dr. Luchs reported that patients in the azithromycin group had experienced significantly more improvement in meibomian gland plugging, meibomian gland secretions and eyelid redness than patients in the compress alone group.
Also in the azithromycin group, meibomian gland plugging had completely resolved in three patients and meibomian gland secretion had returned to normal in two patients, Dr. Luchs noted.
None of these issues were resolved among patients in the compress alone group.
"Furthermore, a higher percentage of patients in the azithromycin group rated overall symptomatic relief as excellent or good," Dr. Luchs said in the September issue of Advances in Therapy.