Arq Bras Oftalmol. 2008;71(6):860-4 Efeito tópico de iodo-povidona 0,5% comparado com natamicina 5% em ceratites fúngicas causadas por Fusarium solani em um modelo animal de coelhos: estudo piloto Effect of topical 0.5% povidone-iodine compared to 5% natamycin in fungal keratitis caused by Fusarium solani in a rabbit model: a pilot study Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of topical administration of 0.5% povidone-iodine in experimental Fusarium solani keratitis in rabbits. Methods: Fungal

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... tis caused by Fusarium solani was induced in the right eye of 24 New Zealand rabbits. The rabbits were randomly divided into 3 different treatment groups: Group I (povidone-iodine) -treated with topical 0.5% povidone-iodine; Group II (natamycin) -treated with topical 5% natamycin; and Group III (control) -treated with topical saline solution. In all groups the rabbits were treated for three days and then sacrificed. The corneas were excised, macerated and immersed in 10 mL BHI. Culture samples were plated daily on Sabouraud's agar for 7 days, and the number of colony-forming units (CFU) was counted. The rabbits were clinically evaluated during the treatment period. Results: The povidone-iodine and natamycin groups demonstrated better efficacy than the control group based on the number of rabbits with no colonies growing. However, there were no statistically significant differences between the three groups when the number of CFU was analyzed (p>0.05). Conclusion: Our study demonstrates important methodological considerations in the use of in vivo animal models for the testing of antifungal agents. Using this sample size and methodology of counting CFU, topical 0.5% povidone-iodine demonstrated no benefit in the treatment of experimental Fusarium solani when compared with topical 5% natamycin. ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Among suppurative corneal ulcerations, fungal keratitis is responsible for significant ocular morbidity and blindness, primarily in the developing world. Its incidence is variable, but it is clearly higher in regions with a warm, humid climate and/or in an agricultural economy (1) . Studies from different continents identified fungi in 6% to 53% of cases of suppurative keratitis (2) (3) . Filamentous fungi are responsible for the majority of these cases (4) . Höfling-Lima et al. (5) cited filamentous fungi as responsible for 79% of fungal keratitis and showed that the genus Fusarium is responsible for 59% of the fungal keratitis in patients of the Federal University of São Paulo.