Povidone-iodine shows promise for viral conjunctivitis

A US study found a single dose of 5% povidone-iodine in patients who tested positive for adenoviral conjunctivitis improved symptoms and reduced the prevalence of viral particles. 

The double-masked pilot Reducing Adenoviral Patient-Infected Days (RAPID) study included 56 patients from nine centres who tested positive on an adenoviral immunoassay test (Quidel) and had symptoms for at least four days. Participants were randomised to receive one in-office dose of either PVP-I or artificial tears. They were evaluated at day 1 or 2, 4, 7, 14 and 21 for clinical signs, self-reported symptoms and a conjunctival swab sample for qPCR and IL-8 assays. 

“50% of patients that tested positive for the point of care test had confirmed PCR viral titres,” said Dr Tammy Than at the latest American Academy of Optometry Meeting. Of the 28, 16 were randomised to receive PVP-I and 12 were randomised to receive artificial tears. At day four, adenoviral titres in the PVP-I group had decreased to 2.5%, while in the artificial tears group they had decreased to 14.4%. 

“We found that [PVP-I] was well tolerated and at day four, we see a trending down of the viral titres and patients feel and look better,” Than said.