Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How dexamethasone ointment and drops spread in cat eyes
By Bessonova, Julia et al.·Published in Veterinary ophthalmology·2011·Institute for Pharmacology, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Tissue distribution of dexamethasone in feline ocular structures following single topical application of dexamethasone as an ointment or suspension.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Nineteen cats were treated with either a dexamethasone ointment or suspension to see how well the medication reached different parts of their eyes. After three hours, both treatments showed similar levels of dexamethasone in the eye, but by six hours, the ointment had much higher levels in key areas like the cornea and third eyelid compared to the suspension. This suggests that using the ointment may be more effective for delivering the medication to the eye. If your cat has eye problems, ask your vet if a dexamethasone ointment could be a better option for treatment.
People also search for: cat eye medication · dexamethasone for cats · cat eye ointment effectiveness
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To compare the dexamethasone concentration in various structures of the feline eye following a single topical application of dexamethasone as an ophthalmic ointment or suspension. ANIMALS STUDIED: Nineteen cats, euthanized due to reasons not related to this study, were selected and their ocular health status evaluated. Selected animals were treated with dexamethasone ointment or suspension. PROCEDURE: The concentration of dexamethasone was determined in the following structures of the eye: third eyelid, cornea, aqueous humor, iris, lens, vitreous body, and choroid/retina. The dexamethasone concentration in the eye was measured by radioimmunoassay. The applied amount of dexamethasone was 0.05 mg in 0.05 mL Isopto Dex(®) ophthalmic suspension and 0.05 mL Isopto Dex(®) ophthalmic ointment, respectively. Cats were treated once with ointment or suspension and were euthanized 3 h or 6 h after treatment. RESULTS: At 3 h after topical administration the highest concentrations of dexamethasone were measured in the anterior structures of the eye. The concentrations after application of ointment and suspension were comparable. However, 6 h after administration, the concentrations decreased after administration of suspension and increased further after administration of the ointment, leading to significantly higher concentrations of dexamethasone in the third eyelid, cornea and choroid/retina after treatment with ointment. CONCLUSION: Therapeutically relevant concentrations of dexamethasone after a single topical administration were only achieved in the anterior structures of the eye. Six hours after application there was a substantially higher amount of dexamethasone in the anterior structures of cat eyes treated with ophthalmic ointment compared to ophthalmic suspension.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21366826/