Abstract
Purpose :
To characterize corneal and conjunctival microbial profiles of patients from Bellevue Hospital, a large New York public hospital.
Methods :
All eye cultures from 2009 to 2015 at Bellevue Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. All cultures, antibiotic sensitivities, and clinical courses were analyzed.
Results :
Of the 451 eye cultures reviewed, 155 (34%) were positive. Of the positive cultures, 46 (30%) were corneal scrapings and 29 (19%) were conjunctival. Of the 46 positive corneal ulcer cultures, the most common isolates were P. aeruginosa (39%), S. marscescens (17%), and S. viridans (11%). Of P. aeruginosa cultures, 44% were resistant to cefuroxime while the rest were pansensitive. All S. marscescens cultures were resistant to cefazolin and cefuroxime. All S. viridans cultures were resistant to erythromycin. Among the 29 positive conjunctiva cultures, the most common isolates were coagulase negative staphylococci (34%), S. viridans group (17%), S. aureus MRSA (17%), and S. aureus MSSA (14%). Three of the MRSA cultures were also resistant to sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim and two were resistant to erythromycin and tetracycline.
Conclusions :
Corneal ulcer cultures most frequently grew bacteria, with P. aeruginosa being the most common organism. This is consistent with current literature showing that P. aeruginosa is a common isolate often due to contact lens wear. Given the resistance patterns of corneal ulcers, fluoroquinolones continue to be an effective choice of treatment. While most conjunctival cultures grew bacteria consistent with normal skin flora, many grew S. aureus with over half comprising of MRSA.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.