title: Blindness following bleb-related infection in open angle glaucoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the risk of blindness following bleb-related infection after trabeculectomy with mitomycin C in open angle glaucoma, utilizing data obtained from two prospective multicenter studies.
  
  
  METHODS
  The incidence of bleb-related infection in open angle glaucoma after the first or second glaucoma surgery was calculated using a Kaplan-Meier analysis and data from the Collaborative Bleb-related Infection Incidence and Treatment Study (CBIITS). The rate of blindness following bleb-related infection was calculated using data from the Japan Glaucoma Society Survey of Bleb-related Infection (JGSSBI). Finally, the rate of blindness following bleb-related infection after filtering surgery was estimated based on the above two data sets. Blindness was defined as an eye with a visual acuity of 0.04 or less.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The incidences of development of bleb-related infection at 5 years were 2.6 ± 0.7 % (calculated cumulative incidence ± standard error) for all infections and 0.9 ± 0.4 % for endophthalmitis in all cases in the CBIITS data. The rates of blindness in the JGSSBI data were 14 % for the total cases with bleb-related infection and 30 % for the endophthalmitis subgroup. The rate of blindness developing within 5 years following trabeculectomy was estimated to be approximately 0.24-0.36 %.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The rate of blindness following bleb-related infection within 5 years after trabeculectomy is considerable and thus careful consideration must be given to the indication for trabeculectomy and the selection of surgical techniques.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu-shi, 501-1194, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sawada
authors.forename: Yasuaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kuwayama
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001766:Blindness / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D005902:Glaucoma, Open-Angle / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D019738:Surgically-Created Structures; D014130:Trabeculectomy; D014792:Visual Acuity; D055815:Young Adult