Effect of blood on susceptibility to Staphylococcal endophthalmitis.
OBJECTIVE
The authors examined the effect of blood on susceptibility to experimental endophthalmitis.


METHODS
Forty rabbits received an injection of 5-25 colony-forming units of Staphylococcus epidermidis into the vitreous of the right eye. Twenty of these same eyes received a subsequent intravitreal injection of 0.2 mL blood while the remaining 20 received an intravitreal injection of 0.2 mL of a salt solution. All eyes were examined daily for signs of endophthalmitis. Vitreous cultures were obtained on day 2 from 30 of the 40 rabbits. Twenty rabbits were assigned for culture and euthanasia at day 5 and those remaining were cultured and killed at day 7.


RESULTS
In rabbits with blood and bacteria, 10 of 15 (67%) were culture positive at 2 days, compared to 2 of 15 (13%) that received salt solution and bacteria (P < 0.01). At days 5 and 7 there was no statistically significant difference in culture results. However, inflammatory scores were significantly higher at days 3-7 in rabbits with blood compared to those with salt solution (P <or= 0.02).


CONCLUSIONS
: In this model, eyes with intravitreal blood were more likely to develop culture-positive endophthalmitis. Cultures were more likely to be positive at day 2, whereas inflammatory signs were more prevalent at days 5 and 7.
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, USA.
Emily J
EJ
Wells
Luisa M
LM
Franco
Christopher T D
CT
Price
James E
JE
Graham
Charles C
CC
Barr
D000818:Animals; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D001769:Blood; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D009877:Endophthalmitis / Q000382:microbiology*; D015818:Eye Infections, Bacterial / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D011817:Rabbits; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D013212:Staphylococcus epidermidis / Q000502:physiology*; D014822:Vitreous Body / Q000382:microbiology*