Comparative Study of Acute Post–Operative Endophthalmitis With or Without Microbiological Identification

Abstract

Abstract: : Purpose: To compare epidemiological and clinical data of patients with acute post–operative endophthalmitis with microbiological positive ocular samples and those with negative ocular samples. Methods: This multicenter prospective study includes 58 patients hospitalized for a post operative endophthalmitis between 2001 and 2004, as a complication of cataract surgery (n = 50), filtering surgery (n = 4), vitreoretinal surgery (n = 2), strabismus surgery (n = 1) or a radial keratotomy (n = 1). A bacteria was identified in the aqueous humour and/or in the vitreous sample, by conventional cultures and polymerase chain reaction for 42 of the 58 patients (72%). Results: Patients with a microbiological proved endophthalmitis were not different from patients with negative cultures and PCR for the following criteria: age of patient, type of the initial surgery, delay between clinical symptoms and the hospitalization, functional signs (pain, visual loss, redness, photophobia, secretions) and clinical signs (initial visual acuity, corneal edema, hypopion, hyalitis, intraocular pressure). Conclusions: Using cultures and PCR on ocular samples, the positivity of the microbiological identification is not associated with the clinical presentation of patients with endophthalmitis.

Keywords: endophthalmitis • microbial pathogenesis: clinical studies • inflammation