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Corneal superficial injury - Management
Should I prescribe antibiotic ointment or drops?
- Chloramphenicol 1% eye ointment is preferred to eye drops.
- Consider prescribing chloramphenicol 0.5% eye drops for daytime use, together with chloramphenicol 1% eye ointment for use at night.
- Eye drops may be more practical for daytime use (ointments can smear and cause blurred vision).
Basis for recommendation
- These recommendations are based on pragmatic advice and published expert opinion [Khaw et al, 2004b; Wilson and Last, 2004].
- CKS found no good published evidence that eye ointment is better than eye drops for preventing infection after a corneal injury. However, expert consensus is that eye ointments are preferred because they are thought to be more lubricating [Khaw et al, 2004b; Wilson and Last, 2004].
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