Treatment of Epidemic Keratoconjunctivitis With Idoxuridine (IUDR)

A small outbreak of epidemic keratoconjunctivitis was seen at the Wills Hospital in the winter of 1962-1963. Eight inpatients and ten outpatients were involved. The symptoms and signs of each fit the many previous EKC descriptions in the literature. To the extent of our knowledge, it was the third appearance of the disease in Philadelphia in 13 years.1 Adenovirus type 8 has been well established as the principal and most important etiologic agent of typical epidemic keratoconjunctivitis.2Isolation of this virus from early cases of the disease and rises in specific neutralizing antibody titer can provide specific laboratory confirmation of the clinical impression. Adenoviruses are DNA viruses and thus may be susceptible to inhibitors of DNA synthesis, such as idoxuridine (5-iodo-2'deoxyuridine; IUDR). Kaufman3introduced this drug for the treatment of another DNA-virus infection, herpes simplex. A number of reports indicate the clinical efficacy of idoxuridine in suppressing