title: Ophthalmic infections in children presenting to Angkor Hospital for Children, Siem Reap, Cambodia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ophthalmic infections cause significant morbidity in Cambodian children but aetiologic data are scarce. We investigated the causes of acute eye infections in 54 children presenting to the ophthalmology clinic at Angkor Hospital for Children, Siem Reap between March and October 2012.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median age at presentation was 3.6 years (range 6 days - 16.0 years). Forty two patients (77.8%) were classified as having an external eye infection, ten (18.5%) as ophthalmia neonatorum, and two (3.7%) as intra-ocular infection. Organisms were identified in all ophthalmia neonatorum patients and 85.7% of patients with an external eye infection. Pathogens were not detected in either of the intra-ocular infection patients. Most commonly isolated bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus (23 isolates), coagulase-negative staphylococci (13), coliforms (7), Haemophilus influenzae/parainfluenzae (6), Streptococcus pneumoniae (4), and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (2). Chlamydia trachomatis DNA was detected in 60% of swabs taken from ophthalmia neonatorum cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This small study demonstrates the wide range of pathogens associated with common eye infections in Cambodian children. The inclusion of molecular assays improved the spectrum of detectable pathogens, most notably in neonates.
authors.forename: Phara
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Khauv
authors.affiliation: Cambodia-Oxford Medical Research Unit, Angkor Hospital for Children, Siem Reap, Cambodia. pault@tropmedres.ac.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Channy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Soeng
authors.forename: Sona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Soeng
authors.forename: Catrin E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bousfield
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Stoesser
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Emary
authors.forename: Duy Pham
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Thanh
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Vu Thi Ty
authors.initials: VT
authors.lastname: Hang
authors.forename: H Rogier
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: van Doorn
authors.forename: Nicholas P J
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Day
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Parry
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D002160:Cambodia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015818:Eye Infections, Bacterial / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D015828:Eye Infections, Viral / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012307:Risk Factors