Azithromycin is used widely in clinical practice and recently it is available in topical
solution for ophthalmic use. The purpose of the current publication is to summarize the newest information on
azithromycin's clinical usefulness over ocular diseases. A PubMed (National Library of Medicine) and a ScienceDirect search was conducted using the key phrases '
azithromycin', 'meibomian', '
blepharitis', '
trachoma', '
toxoplasmosis' from 2010 to 2017. Articles were limited to articles published in English or at least having an English abstract. There were no restrictions on age, ethnicity, or geographic locations of patients. Topical
azithromycin was found effective and safe in various ocular surface
infections, in
meibomian gland dysfunction and in
trachoma. Also, it may substitute
fluoroquinolones in corneal UV cross-linking. The World Health Organization targets for
trachoma elimination are being reached only after 3 years of annual
mass drug administration. Oral
azithromycin can participate in combination regiments for
toxoplasmosis, mainly because of its very good safety profile and may play a significant role in
toxoplasmosis in pregnancy.
Azithromycin is one of the safest
antibiotics, well tolerated, and with special pharmacokinetic properties. Also, it is characterized by a broad antimicrobial spectrum.
Azithromycin is efficacious for the treatment of a lot of ocular diseases and may be included as monotherapy or in combination
therapy in new treatment protocols for more
ocular infections. However, more research is needed to determine this.