Prophylactic treatment for cytosine arabinoside-induced keratoconjunctivitis.

High-dose cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C) is known to cause keratoconjunctivitis in a large proportion of patients. Topical steroids are a popular choice of prophylactic treatment. The objective of this survey was to evaluate the type, dose, frequency and duration of drops used in all centres (n = 117) participating in the acute myeloid leukaemia trial 15 (AML 15), and to assess adherence to the trial protocol prescribed guidelines. All centres used prophylactic treatment; however, the dose of Ara-C at which it was initiated varied from 100 to 6000 mg/m(2)/day. All centres used some form of steroid prophylaxis with prednisolone 0.5% being the most commonly used (98/117), but only 6 of the 117 centres initiated treatment at doses recommended in the trial protocol. Ten centres used lubricants in addition to steroids. No centre reported the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drops. The duration of treatment ranged from 2 days prior to commencing Ara-C to 28 days post-treatment. Twenty-two centres reported complications of which preservative allergy was the commonest. There is a large variation in prophylactic treatment practice in the UK. Clear guidance on the use of prophylaxis and further studies are required to ascertain the most effective prophylactic treatment and regimen.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes