A study on the incidence, microbiological analysis and investigations on the source of infection of postoperative infectious endophthalmitis in a tertiary care ophthalmic hospital: an 8-year study.
BACKGROUND
The objective of the study was the determination of the incidence of culture-proven postoperative endophthalmitis and probable sources of infection.


METHODS
It was a prospective study on the microbiology, incidence and probable sources of infection in patients with postoperative infectious endophthalmitis carried out in a tertiary care eye hospital. Consecutive patients diagnosed with postoperative infectious endophthalmitis during the years 2000-2007 were investigated for the causative infective agent and possible sources of infection. The surgical data and microbiological data including the investigations performed to trace the source were recorded in a specific formatted form and were gathered and compiled for analysis.


RESULTS
Data of analysis showed that 98 (0.042%) out of 2,31,259 patients who underwent intra-ocular surgery developed infectious endophthalmitis. Among these, 70 (0.053%) occurred after cataract, 10 (0.5%) after penetrating keratoplasty (PK) and 18 (0.018%) following other types of intra-ocular surgeries. The predominant infectious agents isolated were bacteria (89.7%), with equal proportions of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Polymicrobial infection was noted in four and fungi in seven patients. Occurrence of postoperative endophthalmitis was sporadic and not related to any specific part of period in a year. Sources of infection were donor corneal rim in six post-PK patients and phaco probe in one who had postphacoemulsification endophthalmitis


CONCLUSIONS
Overall incidence of postoperative endophthalmitis over an 8-year period was quite low. The sources of infection could be established in six post-PK endophthalmitis patients and in a postcataract surgery.
L & T Microbiology Research Center, Chennai-600 006, Tamil Nadu, India.
Malathi
M
Jambulingam
Suresh Kumar
SK
Parameswaran
Sagar
S
Lysa
Margarita
M
Selvaraj
Hajib N
HN
Madhavan
D002387:Cataract Extraction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009877:Endophthalmitis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000601:surgery; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D001411:Geobacillus stearothermophilus; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D006782:Hospitals, Special / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000601:surgery; D013997:Time Factors; D014822:Vitreous Body / Q000601:surgery