efficacy of chlorhexidine and a riboflavin/UVA combination on fungal agents of keratitis.

Mycotic keratitis is a global ophthalmological problem because it is difficult to diagnose and treat. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the efficiency of using antifungal agents amphotericin B (AMB), voriconazole (VRC), 0.02% chlorhexidine (CHX), and a combination of riboflavin and UVA treatment against two fungal genera ( and ) responsible for keratitis. We evaluated antifungal efficiencies of riboflavin/UVA and the antifungal drugs VRC, AMB, and CHX (alone and in combination) against fungal inocula at four concentrations. We recorded colony counts of isolates for , and on Mueller-Hinton agar plates. Fungal suspensions exposed to the following treatment combinations did not allow fungal growth: riboflavin/UVA and VRC, riboflavin/UVA and AMB, riboflavin/UVA and CHX, and CHX alone. We observed a statistically significant reduction ( < 0.05) in the number of colonies on agar plates when fungal suspensions were treated with riboflavin/UVA, VRC, and AMB only. Riboflavin/UVA treatment in combination with AMB, VRC, and CHX are capable of killing keratitis-inducing fungi ( 0.05). The antiseptic CHX exerted a considerable antifungal effect on all strains we examined. Therefore, we recommend CHX as additional therapy against mycotic keratitis, particularly when keratitis is caused by multi-resistant members of .