Table 2.
Baseline Data for 492 Patients Treated With Corticosteroids or Placebo Earlier (2–3 d) vs Later (≥4 d)a
| Characteristic | Earlier Addition of Corticosteroids or Placebo | Later Addition of Corticosteroids or Placebo | P Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. of patients | 340 (69.1) | 152 (30.9) | <.001 |
| No. of days of topical antibiotics before addition of corticosteroid or placebo, median (IQR) | 2 (2–3) | 5 (4–6) | <.001 |
| Treatment allocation | |||
| Placebo | 172 (50.6) | 74 (48.7) | .77 |
| Corticosteroid | 168 (49.4) | 78 (51.3) | |
| Sex | .01 | ||
| Male | 172 (50.6) | 96 (63.2) | |
| Female | 168 (49.4) | 56 (36.8) | |
| Age, median (IQR), y | 54.5 (40–62) | 51 (40–61) | .33 |
| Duration of symptoms, median (IQR), d | 4 (3–7) | 5 (3–8) | .01 |
| Cornea depth, % | .50 | ||
| >0–33 | 160 (47.1) | 61 (40.1) | |
| >33–67 | 99 (29.1) | 49 (32.2) | |
| >67–100 | 81 (23.8) | 42 (27.6) | |
| Scar size, median (IQR), mm | 2.54 (1.86–4.00) | 3.09 (2.09–4.22) | .06 |
| Epithelial defect, median (IQR), mm | 1.73 (1.00–3.04) | 1.98 (1.05–3.26) | .12 |
| Ulcer location | .16 | ||
| Entirely in periphery | 52 (15.3) | 15 (10.0) | |
| Partially covering 4-mm circumference | 216 (63.5) | 96 (63.2) | |
| Completely fills 4-mm circumference | 71 (20.9) | 40 (26.3) | |
| Visual acuity, median (IQR), logMAR | 0.75 (0.36–1.70) | 0.90 (0.38–1.70) | .61 |
| Organism | |||
| Nocardia species | 24 (7.1) | 29 (19.1) | <.001 |
| Non-Nocardia species | 316 (92.9) | 121 (79.6) | |
Abbreviation: IQR, interquartile range.
a
Values are given as number (percentage) unless otherwise indicated.