Combined interferon alpha-2b medicine in the complex treatment of herpetic keratitis in patients with HIV infection and tuberculosis

Abstract

Objective – to assess the effectiveness of the interferon-based medicine Ophtalmoferon® for the treatment of herpetic keratitis in patients with tuberculosis (TB) and HIV-positive status, undergoing hospital treatment.

Material and methods. This study included 34 patients (23 men and 11 women) aged 25 to 67 years (mean age 43.48±2.15), who had consulted the ophthalmologist of the clinical anti-tuberculosis dispensary with the complaints of decreased vision, eye pain, photophobia, lacrimation, foreign body sensation under the eyelids. The study selection and inclusion criteria were determined by biomicroscopic findings of corneal infiltrates that resemble the tree branches, which is typical for herpetic (herpes simplex virus type 1) keratitis. The patients were divided into two groups: group 1 (n=18) – main one – received complex therapy with the medicine Ophtalmoferon® (interferon-based eye drops); group 2 (n=16) – control one – did not receive the interferonbased medicine as part of the complex therapy. During patients’ treatment and monitoring the assessment of the effectiveness, tolerability and safety of the medicine Ophtalmoferon® was conducted.

Results. Control examinations of patients in both groups were performed on the 5th and 10th treatment days. On the 5th treatment day as compared to the baseline there were no cases of pronounced (3 points) lacrimation, pericorneal injection and blepharospasm in the group 1 patients. Only in 10 and 15% of cases lacrimation and blepharospasm were moderate (2 points), unlike the control group, where these parameters were much higher – 30 and 35% respectively.

On the 10th treatment day the main group patients, who received Ophtalmoferon® as part of the complex therapy, did not have complaints of pronounced (3 points) eye pain, foreign body sensation and lacrimation. Photophobia, eye pain and foreign body sensation of moderate severity (2 points) were experienced by only 4 patients. The ophthalmologist noted that there was no pericorneal injection and blepharospasm (2 and 3 points) in the main group patients, whereas patients in the control group had pronounced (3 points) blepharospasm and pericorneal injection.

Conclusion. The use of the combined medicine Ophtalmoferon® for the treatment of herpetic keratitis in patients, undergoing hospital treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis, helps to achieve a rapid resolution of the infectious process. All patients reported a good tolerability of this medicine. No side effects and no cases of withdrawal or refusal to use the medicine Ophtalmoferon® were observed.

Keywords:keratitis, herpes virus, patients with tuberculosis and HIV infection, interferon alpha-2b, Ophtalmoferon®, eye drops

Funding. The study had no sponsor support.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Contribution. Research concept, editing – Mordyk A.V.; research design, text writing – Bagisheva N.V.; recruitment and processing of material – Nebesnaya E.Yu. , Khlebova N.V., Sitnikova S.V.; observation of patients – Khlebova N.V.; collection and processing of material – Sitnikova S.V.; editing – Nesterova K.I., Surov A.V., Trukhan D.I.; statistical data processing, article writing – Moiseeva M.V.

For citation: Mordyk A.V., Bagisheva N.V., Nebesnaya E.Yu., Sitnikova S.V., Khlebova N.V., Nesterova K.I., Surov A.V., Trukhan D.I., Moiseeva M.V. Combined interferon alpha-2b medicine in the complex treatment of herpetic keratitis in patients with HIV infection and tuberculosis. Infektsionnye bolezni: novosti, mneniya, obuchenie [Infectious Diseases: News, Opinions, Training]. 2021; 10 (3): 49–56. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33029/2305-3496-2021-10-3-49-56

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CHIEF EDITOR
Aleksandr V. Gorelov
Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, MD, Head of Infection Diseases and Epidemiology Department of the Scientific and Educational Institute of Clinical Medicine named after N.A. Semashko ofRussian University of Medicine, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Professor of the Department of Childhood Diseases, Clinical Institute of Children's Health named after N.F. Filatov, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Deputy Director for Research, Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, Rospotrebnadzor (Moscow, Russian Federation)

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