ABSTRACT
Intravitreal injection of antimicrobials has become the mainstay of treatment of intraocular infections. Once injected into the eye, antibiotics diffuse through the vitreous cavity and are eliminated by either a posterior or an anterior route. Betalactam antibiotics resemble penicillin with the exception of replacement of a five-member thiazolidine ring. Amphotericin B is the most frequently chosen antimicrobial for treatment of intra-ocular fungal infections. Aminoglycosides are semisynthetic analogs of Actinomycetes fungi p roducts. Aminoglycosides have been the most widely studied class of antibiotics for their intraocular toxic potential. Toxicity may be totally unrelated to the therapeutic effect or may be an extension of the drug's pharmacologic properties. Electroretinographic toxicity criteria have also been employed but concurrent controls in which a placebo is injected in the fellow eye simultaneously are important since surgical invasion of the eye alone can reduce the electroretinographic response.
