Durezol (difluprednate ophthalmic emulsion; Sirion Therapeutics) 0.05%, a topical steroid, has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the treatment of postoperative ocular inflammation and pain.

Trivaris (triamcinolone acetonide injectable suspension; Allergan), a synthetic glucocorticoid corticosteroid, has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of inflammatory ophthalmic conditions.

The inadequate refrigeration of chloramphenicol generics in India could be contributing to the evolution of resistant organisms and impacting the quality of Indian-made products available in Europe, according to a study published in the May 2008 issue of the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

The use of ophthalmic solutions tends to increase with age; however, as use of these solutions, both therapeutic and diagnostic, rises, so too does a patient's risk of infections.

Results of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) study of endophthalmitis prophylaxis do not appear to have had a significant impact on the practices of US cataract surgeons, according to the findings of an online survey conducted by the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Cataract Clinical Committee.1 The survey results were reported by David F. Chang, MD, at the Spotlight on Cataracts 2007 symposium held during the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

A study published in the January issue of Antimicrobial Agents & Chemotherapy, has found that the high proportion of corneal infections linked to contact lens solutions are fuelled and made resistant to treatment by the formation of a highly resistant structure of microbial cells held together with a glue-like matrix material, called biofilms.

The clinical assessment of an anterior chamber inflammatory reaction may be difficult to determine in eyes where corneal clarity is reduced by corneal oedema. Slit lamp examination is currently the gold standard method to assess inflammation1-3 but in conditions such as poor corneal clarity, the clinician routinely encounters difficulties.

Events that have taken place in the market of contact lens hygiene and care products over the last two years give the impression that the hygiene scene is again in crisis. A crisis which is perhaps comparable with the "chlorhexidine shock" of almost three decades ago, which raised the question "is there a completely effective, safe and trouble-free way of caring for contact lenses?"

The use of intravitreal dexamethasone (IVD) is not warranted as a routine adjunctive treatment in postoperative endophthalmitis.