Dexamethasone in ophthalmology: Pharmacokinetics after various routes of administration

The aim of this thesis was to gain more knowledge of the pharmacokinetics of corticosteroids after various commonly used administration routes in humans. We chose to use dexamethasone disodium phosphate for our studies because this preparation is widely used for topical application in the Netherlands, whereas its ocular penetration has not yet been studied in humans. Moreover, with a water-soluble, short acting preparation, the pharmacokinetics after subconjunctival and peribulbar injections could be more accurately studied than with a lipid-soluble depot preparation.