Oral ketoconazole therapy for experimental candida albicans keratitis in rabbits.

Oral ketoconazole (100 mg daily for 3 weeks) markedly reduced the severity of experimental Candida albicans keratitis in a group of 10 rabbits. Clinical scores of affected eyes were statistically significantly lower in the treated group than in a control group of 10 untreated rabbits. All cultures of corneal scrapings in the treated eyes were negative on the 15th day after the inoculation, whilst three positive cultures were still obtained on the 21st day in the control animals. Histopathological examination of eyes from treated and untreated rabbits showed great differences in the intensity of inflammatory changes in the two groups.