Abstract
Purpose: Pilot study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of oral guaifenesin in reducing the signs and symptoms of filamentary keratitis. Methods: Prospective, uncontrolled open-label pilot study. Twelve patients with non-Sjögren dry eye disease (DED) and secondary filamentary keratitis received treatment with oral guaifenesin 600 mg twice a day (total dose of 1.2 g/day) for 4 weeks. Adverse events, change in the number of corneal filaments, corneal fluorescein staining (CFS; NEI grading system), and symptoms (Ocular Surface Disease Index) were assessed. Results: Before starting oral guaifenesin, all patients were on topical medical therapy for their condition. At baseline, the mean number of filaments was 5.8 ± 2.9, CFS score 7.3 ± 3.2, and OSDI score 55.6 ± 25. After 4 weeks of treatment, the number of filaments was 2.1 ± 2.2 (p = 0.04 vs. baseline), CFS score 6.5 ± 3.1 (p = 0.5), and OSDI score 46.1 ± 30.9 (p = 0.2). One patient discontinued the medication due to gastrointestinal side effects. Conclusions: Oral guaifenesin was safe and generally well tolerated, and demonstrated modest efficacy in reducing the severity of filamentary keratitis. These results should be considered preliminary; however, placebo-controlled investigations would be justified to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of oral guaifenesin as a mucolytic in treatment of filamentary keratitis.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 565-570 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Ocular Surface |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2019 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We thank Dr. Centrael Evans and Dr. Jamie Schaefer for their valuable contribution to the design of this study.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Inc.
Copyright:
Copyright 2019 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Ophthalmology