Akten®

Lidocaine 3.5% · ophthalmic gel

Local Anesthetic

• Topical ophthalmic use only: Not for injection or intraocular administration.
• Corneal injury from insensitivity: The eye must not be touched for at least 10 to 20 minutes after instillation, since accidental injury can occur while sensation is absent.
• Corneal opacification: Prolonged use of a topical ocular anesthetic may produce permanent corneal opacification and ulceration with accompanying visual loss.
• Provider administration: Indicated for administration under the direct supervision of a healthcare provider, not for patient self-administration.
• Anesthetic abuse keratopathy: Prolonged use of any topical ocular anesthetic produces a nonhealing epithelial defect with ring-shaped stromal infiltrate and hypopyon that has been mistaken for Acanthamoeba keratitis; in a 19-patient series of proparacaine and tetracaine abusers, mean time to epithelialization was 20 days and 63% kept using the drops while hospitalized for the resulting ulcer.