Move over, silver nitrate - tetracycline ointment now used to prevent eye infections in newborns

Pediatrics for Parents, June, 1988 by Richard J. Sagall

Move Over, Silver Nitrate Since 1881, newborns have been treated with silver nitrate drops to prevent gonococcal (caused by gonorrhea) eye infections. This treatment was hailed as a major step in preventive medicine. Silver nitrate has been criticized as being less than optimally effective and quite toxic. Recently there has been a move away from silver nitrate drops to erythromycin and tetracycline ointments.

The effectiveness silver nitrate drops and tetracycline ointment were compared in a study from Kenya. The study was done there because of the high incidence of maternal gonorrhea and chlamydia, another sexually transmitted disease.

Tetracycline ointment was more effective than silver nitrate drops in preventing both gonococcal and chlamydial eye infections in newborns. Besides being more effective, the tetracycline ointment has other benefits -- it's less expensive and more likely to stay in the infant's eye longer.