Acridine orange staining in early diagnosis of mycotic keratitis

We have assessed the comparative sensitivities of acridine orange staining and 10% potassium hydroxide wet mount in the examination of corneal scrapings from one hundred and sixty-one clinically suspected cases of mycotic keratitis. The sensitivity of acridine orange was found to be 76% as compared to that of potassium hydroxide (65%). The predictive value for culture result was also seen to be higher. Although both the values were not statistically significant (P greater than 0.05), acridine orange staining was a rapid and simple technique with an added advantage of detecting inflammatory cells in corneal scrapings.