title: Early surgical debridement in the management of infectious scleritis after pterygium excision.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to report outcomes of infectious scleritis after pterygium surgery, managed with antibiotic therapies and early scleral debridement.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective chart review of 13 consecutive cases of infectious scleritis after pterygium excision between 1999 and 2009 was conducted. Collected data included prior medical and surgical history, latency period between pterygium surgery and presentation of infectious scleritis, culture and histopathologic findings, antibiotic regimen, length of hospital stay, visual acuity before and after treatment, and complications.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median follow-up was at 14 months. Twelve patients underwent prompt surgical debridement after infectious scleritis diagnosis (median, 2.5 days). Debridement was delayed in one patient. Median hospital stay was 3 days. Best-corrected visual acuity improved in ten patients, remained stable in one patient, and decreased in two patients following treatment. Complications included scleral thinning requiring scleral patch graft (1/13), glaucoma (3/13), and progression to phthisis bulbi (1/13). No patients required enucleation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In contrast to the generally poor outcomes in the literature, early surgical debridement of pterygium-associated infectious scleritis appears to offer improved prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Ethan H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Tittler
authors.forename: Pho
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Kelly S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Rue
authors.forename: Daniel V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Vasconcelos-Santos
authors.forename: Jonathan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Irvine
authors.forename: Ronald E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Narsing A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Samuel C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Yiu