Purpose:To evaluate the efficacy of topical administration of 0.5% povidone-iodine in experimental Fusarium solani keratitis in rabbits. Methods: Fungal keratitis 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

Ret rospective study aiming at evaluating the interference of associate diseases in the evolution and prognosis of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Materials and methods:Case-Control Study. Thirty-five patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss were divided in two groups, one of them with associate diseases (hypertension, diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemias), and another one without co-occurrence of such diseases. The groups were evaluated regarding: age, gender, associate diseases, presence of tinnitus, dizziness and ear fullness sensation, presence of cerebral microangiopathy observed in magnetic resonance imaging, ophthalmoscopic findings, treatment onset, improvements in audiometric findings and at speech discrimination tests. Statistical analysis of data was performed. Results:The associate disease group showed higher ages, cerebral microangiopathy observed in magnetic resonance imaging and later improvement in speech discrimination tests, being this difference statistically significant. Conclusion:Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss co-occurring with hypertension, diabetes mellitus or dyslipidemias, in older patients, is associated with a higher prevalence of cerebral microangiopathy, revealed by magnetic resonance imaging, and associated with a slower hearing recovering, showed by later improvements in speech discrimination tests. Braz J Otorhinolaryngol. 2010;76(3):363-9. ORIGINAL ARTICLE BJORL