Abstract
It is fitting as ophthalmology celebrates the 75th anniversary of the American Board of Ophthalmology,1 the first medical subspecialty examining board in the world, that ophthalmologists continue to make important scientific contributions not only to preserve vision, but also to decrease mortality from associated systemic diseases.The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic advances at alarming rates, and ophthalmologists are increasingly involved in providing care to its victims. Indeed, cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis is the most frequent opportunistic ocular infection in patients with AIDS,2 with 20% developing retinitis due to CMV at some time in their lives.3 If untreated, CMV retinitis ultimately results in blindness. Currently, two drugs are approved for treatment of CMV retinitis: ganciclovir (Cytovene, Syntex Laboratories, Inc, Palo Alto, Calif) and foscarnet (Foscavir, Astra Pharmaceutical Products Inc, Westborough, Mass). Both antiviral agents must be administered initially at high doses for induction therapy, followed by lifelong maintenance
