Etiology and clinical outcomes of microbial keratitis at a tertiary eye-care center in northern Thailand.
OBJECTIVE
To establish the predisposing factors, microbial profiles, demographics of patients and clinical outcomes of microbial keratitis at a tertiary eye center in northern Thailand.


METHODS
Patients admitted to Chiang Mai University Hospital with suspected microbial keratitis (non-viral) were studied retrospectively over a 36-month period (April 2003-March 2006, respectively) (n = 305 cases/310 eyes). Predisposing factors, causative organisms, patients' demographic and treatment outcomes were analyzed.


RESULTS
Ocular trauma was the predisposing factor (43.9%) identified most commonly, followed by undetermined causes (16.1%), ocular surface diseases (13.20%), multiple factors (9.40%), systemic disease (6.80%), ocular surgery (3.9%) and use of contact lens (3.5%). Cultures of corneal scraping were positive in 25.6% of cases. Both bacteria and fungi were common pathogens (49.3% and 46.3%, respectively). Pseudomonas aeruginosa (14.90%) and fusarium spp. (26.90%) was the most common bacterial and fungal pathogen, respectively. Forty-one percent of eyes underwent surgery and the most common procedure was scleral patch graft (39.8%). A statistically significant predictor of poor visual outcome was an ulcer larger than 6 mm (OR 3.08, p = 0.002).


CONCLUSIONS
Ocular trauma was the most common predisposing factor leading to microbial keratitis. Both bacteria and fungi were common pathogens. A large lesion at presentation was a significant predictor for poor visual outcome.
Department of Ophthalmology, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand. ntananuv@med.cmu.ac.th
Napaporn
N
Tananuvat
Oranit
O
Punyakhum
Somsangaun
S
Ausayakhun
Winai
W
Chaidaroon
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007634:Keratitis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D013785:Thailand; D055815:Young Adult