english.prescrire.org > Spotlight > Archives : 2021 > In the May issue of Prescrire International: Ciclosporin eye drops (Verkazia°) in severe vernal keratoconjunctivitis

Spotlight: Archives

Every month, the subjects in Prescrire’s Spotlight.

2021 : 1 | 30 | 60

In the May issue of Prescrire International: Ciclosporin eye drops (Verkazia°) in severe vernal keratoconjunctivitis

FREE DOWNLOAD Eye drops containing ciclosporin at a concentration of 1 mg/ml (Verkazia°) have been authorised in the European Union for severe vernal keratoconjunctivitis in children from 4 years of age and in adolescents. How do Prescrire's editors rate this drug?
Full text available for free download.

Prescrire's rating

  •  POSSIBLY HELPFUL  In a randomised trial in children and adolescents with severe vernal keratoconjunctivitis, eye drops containing ciclosporin at a concentration of 1 mg/ml relieved some symptoms in a minority of patients after 4 months, compared with the same eye drops without ciclosporin. It has not been shown to affect the clinical complications of the disease. Ciclosporin eye drops mainly provoke eye disorders, including pain and pruritus. A longer-term risk of ocular or periocular cancer has not been ruled out. In practice, for patients with vernal keratoconjunctivitis and very bothersome symptoms, when continuing treatment with corticosteroid eye drops is not advisable due to adverse effects, eye drops containing ciclosporin at a concentration of 1 mg/ml is an option with limited efficacy but a different set of ocular adverse effects. The summary of product characteristics (SPC) for Verkazia° recommends that patients who could become pregnant use effective contraception. 

©Prescrire 1 May 2021

Source: "Ciclosporin eye drops - Verkazia°. In severe vernal keratoconjunctivitis: different adverse effects from those of a corticosteroid" Prescrire International 2021; 30 (226): 122. Free.

Enjoy full access to Prescrire International, and support independent information
Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter


Prescrire's rating:

Prescrire's rating  
  POSSIBLY HELPFUL 


Read more:

All the subjects in
Prescrire's Spotlight
Free >