[Endophthalmitis: improvement of culture results].
BACKGROUND
Infectious endophthalmitis is a rare, but serious complication. Identification of the responsible microorganism is important for prognosis and therapy. In the literature positive cultures have been reported in 35-85% of cases. The purpose of our work was to improve the proportion of positive culture results.


METHODS
All necessary materials (culture media: Columbia, Hämatin, ENDO and yeast-cystein-blood agar, fungus media) and instructions were always available in the operation theater. Thus, intraocularly derived samples could be cultured by less experienced residents right in the operation theater, especially off duty. At night the culture plates were incubated in the Department of Ophthalmology under optimal conditions and passed on to an experienced microbiologist later. Culture results of the first 21 patients suffering from endophthalmitis (acute or chronic postoperative, endogen) after introduction of this "endophthalmitis set" were compared to the results of the 21 patients before.


RESULTS
As a result of the introduction of the "endophthalmitis set", the proportion of positive culture results improved from 11/21 to 18/21. The detected microorganisms were all representative of the pathogens commonly causing endophthalmitis (gram-positive bacteria, anaerobic bacteria).


CONCLUSIONS
An appropriate culture set that is always available in the operation theater may increase the number of positive cultures dramatically and hence help to find the adequate antibiotic treatment in endophthalmitis cases.
Ness
T
T
Universitäts-Augenklinik Freiburg.
Pelz
K
K
D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002175:Candida / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009877:Endophthalmitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008828:Microbiological Techniques