for the Mycotic Ulcer Treatment Trial II Group OBJECTIVE To compare oral voriconazole with placebo in addition to topical antifungals in the treatment of filamentous fungal keratitis. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSThe Mycotic Ulcer Treatment Trial II (MUTT II), a multicenter, double-masked, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial, was conducted in India and Nepal, with 2133 individuals screened for inclusion. Patients with smear-positive filamentous fungal ulcers and visual acuity of 20/400 (logMAR 1.3) or worse were randomized to receive oral voriconazole vs oral placebo; all participants received topical antifungal eyedrops. The study was conducted from May 24, 2010, to November 23, 2015. All trial end points were analyzed on an intent-to-treat basis.INTERVENTIONS Study participants were randomized to receive oral voriconazole vs oral placebo; a voriconazole loading dose of 400 mg was administered twice daily for 24 hours, followed by a maintenance dose of 200 mg twice daily for 20 days, with dosing altered to weight based during the trial. All participants received topical voriconazole, 1%, and natamycin, 5%. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESThe primary outcome of the trial was rate of corneal perforation or the need for therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty (TPK) within 3 months. Secondary outcomes included microbiologic cure at 6 days, rate of re-epithelialization, best-corrected visual acuity and infiltrate and/or scar size at 3 weeks and 3 months, and complication rates associated with voriconazole use.RESULTS A total of 2133 patients in India and Nepal with smear-positive ulcers were screened; of the 787 who were eligible, 240 (30.5%) were enrolled. Of the 119 patients (49.6%) in the oral voriconazole treatment group, 65 were male (54.6%), and the median age was 54 years (interquartile range, 42-62 years). Overall, no difference in the rate of corneal perforation or the need for TPK was determined for oral voriconazole vs placebo (hazard ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.57-1.18; P = .29). In prespecified subgroup analyses comparing treatment effects among organism subgroups, there was some suggestion that Fusarium species might have a decreased rate of perforation or TPK in the oral voriconazole-treated arm; however, this was not a statistically significant finding after Holms-Šidák correction for multiple comparisons (effect coefficient, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.26-0.92; P = .03). Patients receiving oral voriconazole experienced a total of 58 adverse events (48.7%) compared with 28 adverse events (23.1%) in the placebo group (P < .001 after Holms-Šidák correction for multiple comparisons). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEThere appears to be no benefit to adding oral voriconazole to topical antifungal agents in the treatment of severe filamentous fungal ulcers. All patients in this study were enrolled in India and Nepal; therefore, it is possible that organisms in this region may exhibit characteristics different from those in other regions of the world. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00996736
Purpose To analyze the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of isolates from fungal keratitis to natamycin and voriconazole, and to assess the relationship between organism, MIC, and clinical outcome. Methods Data were collected as part of a randomized, controlled, double-masked clinical trial. Main outcome measures included best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), infiltrate/scar size, time to re-epithelialization, and perforation. Speciation and analysis of MIC to natamycin and voriconazole was done according to NCCLS standards. The relationship between MIC and organism, organism and outcome measure, and each outcome measure and MIC was assessed. Results Of 120 samples obtained in the trial, 84 isolates had an identifiable organism and were available for further analyses. Fusarium spp and Aspergillus spp were the most commonly-isolated organisms. MIC was significantly different across the groups of organisms (P=0.0001). A higher MIC was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of perforation (OR 2.03, 95%CI 1.02 to 4.04, P=0.04). There was no significant association between MIC and 3-week visual acuity (0.058, 95%CI -0.01 to 0.13, P=0.11), 3-month visual acuity (0.01, 95%CI -0.08 to 1.04, P=0.79), 3-week infiltrate/scar size (0.12, 95% CI -0.02 to 0.27, P=0.10), 3-month infiltrate/scar size (0.12, 95%CI -0.02 to 0.25, P=0.09), or time to re-epithelialization (HR 1.19, 95%CI 0.98 to 1.45, P=0.08). Conclusion A higher MIC was associated with an increased odds of perforation. The results of this study suggest that resistance to antifungal medication may be associated with worse outcomes in fungal keratitis.
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