Ocular Permeation of Topical Tazocin and Its Effectiveness in the Treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Induced Keratitis in Rabbits

Abstract Purpose: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the most common causative organism for contact lens-associated corneal ulcer and is commonly treated with fluoroquinolones. With the emergence of resistant strains, it is important to investigate alternative therapies. Despite well-established efficacy of tazocin against systemic Pseudomonas infections, its topical use for the treatment of Pseudomonas keratitis has not been described, hence this study was aimed to find the ocular permeation of Tazocin and its efficacy in treating keratitis in rabbit eyes. Methods: We investigated the ocular permeation of topical tazocin after single drop application in normal rabbit eyes by estimating piperacillin and tazobactam concentrations in cornea, aqueous, and vitreous using a validated LC-MS/MS method. Furthermore, we determined the efficacy of repeated dose administration of tazocin against experimentally induced P. aeruginosa keratitis in rabbits in comparison to moxifloxacin. To determine the efficacy, clinical examin...