Povidone iodine in the treatment of adenoviral conjunctivitis in infants.

CONTEXT: Adenoviral conjunctivitis.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the effects of conjunctival irrigation with povidone iodine in infants with adenoviral conjunctivitis.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

An outbreak of adenovirus conjunctivitis occurred between September and December 2012 at the neonatal intensive care unit of our hospital. Forty-three infants with adenoviral conjunctivitis were examined in this study. Thirty-five eyes of 35 infants who had detailed ophthalmological examination and clinical scoring were included. The conjunctiva of 15 infants (Group 1) were irrigated with povidone iodine 2.5% solution and then treated with preservative-free artificial tears and preservative-free antibiotic drops. Twenty infants (Group 2) were treated only with the same drops with the same posology, without conjunctival irrigation with povidone iodine. Patients were examined two times a week until the complete recovery. Lid edema, conjunctival chemosis, fragility of conjunctival vasculature, pseudomembrane formation, and corneal involvement were scored clinically.

RESULTS

Twenty patients (57%) were female and 15 patients (43%) were male and mean age was 3.1 months (ranged from 1 to 4 months). No relation was found between gender and clinical scores. Statistically significant lower clinical scores were obtained from Group 1. The median recovery time was earlier in Group 1 (7 d) than Group 2 (12 d) (p = 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Conjunctival irrigation with 2.5% povidone iodine is effective in the treatment of adenoviral conjunctivitis in infants.