%0 Journal Article %J Ocul Surf %D 2019 %T Oral guaifenesin for treatment of filamentary keratitis: A pilot study %A Coco, Giulia %A Amparo, Francisco %A Patel, Sangita P %A Foulsham, William %A Carreno-Galeano, Jimena Tatiana %A Stockslager, Steven G %A Ciolino, Joseph B %A Yin, Jia %A Dana, Reza %X PURPOSE: Pilot study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of oral guaifenesin in reducing the signs and symptoms of filamentary keratitis. METHODS: Prospective, uncontrolled open-label pilot study. Twelve patients with non-Sjögren dry eye disease (DED) and secondary filamentary keratitis received treatment with oral guaifenesin 600 mg twice a day (total dose of 1.2 g/day) for 4 weeks. Adverse events, change in the number of corneal filaments, corneal fluorescein staining (CFS; NEI grading system), and symptoms (Ocular Surface Disease Index) were assessed. RESULTS: Before starting oral guaifenesin, all patients were on topical medical therapy for their condition. At baseline, the mean number of filaments was 5.8 ± 2.9, CFS score 7.3 ± 3.2, and OSDI score 55.6 ± 25. After 4 weeks of treatment, the number of filaments was 2.1 ± 2.2 (p = 0.04 vs. baseline), CFS score 6.5 ± 3.1 (p = 0.5), and OSDI score 46.1 ± 30.9 (p = 0.2). One patient discontinued the medication due to gastrointestinal side effects. CONCLUSIONS: Oral guaifenesin was safe and generally well tolerated, and demonstrated modest efficacy in reducing the severity of filamentary keratitis. These results should be considered preliminary; however, placebo-controlled investigations would be justified to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of oral guaifenesin as a mucolytic in treatment of filamentary keratitis. %B Ocul Surf %8 2019 Apr 01 %G eng %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30946892?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1016/j.jtos.2019.03.008