Table 2.
Food and Drug Administration’s category and potential complications of medications used topically after glaucoma surgery
| Drug | FDA’s Classification | Reported Side Effects in Animal Studies | Reported Side Effects of Systemic Use during Pregnancy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corticosteroid | |||
| Dexamethasone | C* | Leukocytosis in infants with in utero exposure to systemic use47 | |
| Prednisolone | C | Developmental and teratogenic effect, cleft lip and palate, and sex organ abnormalities47 | Increase in the risk of stillbirth, intrauterine growth retardation, and adrenal insufficiency47 |
| Antibiotics | |||
| Erythromycin | B** | ||
| Polymyxin | C | ||
| Aminoglycoside | D*** | Hearing loss and nephrotoxicity48 | |
| Sulfonamide | C | Cleft palate and other bony abnormalities48 | Hyperbilirubinemia48 |
| Fluoroquinolone | C | No teratogenic effects, decreased body weight, and delayed skeletal development48 | Arthropathy48 |
| Tetracycline | D | Discoloration of the primary teeth (after the third month of pregnancy)48 | |
| Chloramphenicol | C | Gray baby syndrome (Topical usage is safe.)48 | |
| Atropine | C | Probability of an effect on the fetal heart rate49 |
*
Uncertain safety, with no human studies and animal studies showing adverse effect;
**
Presumed safety based on animal studies;
***
Unsafe; Evidence of risk that in certain clinical circumstances may be justifiable