A Prospective Study on the Clinical and Microbiological Spectrum of Endophthalmitis in a Specific Region in Denmark

Søren Solborg Bjerrum, Hassan Hamoudi, Alice Friis-Møller, Morten Dornonville de la Cour

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

PURPOSE: To study the clinical and microbiological spectrum of endophthalmitis with emphasis on clinical features, visual outcomes and risks of surgical complications.

METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted between 2012 and 2013 in a specific region in Denmark. Patients were clinically examined before, during and after surgical intervention for endophthalmitis.

RESULTS: Fifty eyes with endophthalmitis were included. Endophthalmitis after cataract surgery (post-cataract), anti-VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) intravitreal injections (post-injection) and cases of endogenous endophthalmitis were responsible for 40, 28 and 18% of all cases, respectively. There was no difference in the microbiological spectrum in post-cataract patients and post-injection patients, but patients with post-cataract endophthalmitis presented statistically significantly more frequently with hypopyon and fibrin in the anterior chamber. Between 20 and 25% of post-cataract and post-injection endophthalmitis patients developed a surgical complication after primary surgical intervention for endophthalmitis, and this was statistically significantly associated with a poor visual outcome. There was no statistically significant difference in the risk of surgical complications in phakic and pseudophakic eyes with post-injection endophthalmitis. Of the 8 patients with endogenous endophthalmitis, 67% developed a surgical complication, and these patients had a high mortality. The visual outcome in the most common types of endophthalmitis was good, with 60% of post-cataract patients achieving a visual outcome ≥ 0.5, and 64% of post-injection patients only had a mild vision loss (1-14 ETDRS letters) or even gained vision.

CONCLUSIONS: The endophthalmitis cases had a broad clinical spectrum. Surprisingly, endogenous endophthalmitis accounted for almost one fifth of all cases. Patients with post-cataract endophthalmitis had a clinically different presentation than patients with post-injection endophthalmitis. In general, the bacteria were low-virulent and the visual outcomes good, but a substantial part of the patients developed a surgical complication which was associated with a poor visual outcome.

Original languageEnglish
JournalOphthalmologica
Volume235
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)26-33
Number of pages8
ISSN0030-3755
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2016

Keywords

  • Journal Article
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

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