Fungal flora in congenital dacryocystitis

In this study, 86 eyes in 66 cases (20 bilateral) of congenital dacryocystitis were analysed for fungal growth. Fungi alone were isolated in 12 eyes (13.95%) and in 14 eyes (16.28%) together with bacteria--a total of 26 positive for fungus in 86 eyes (30.23%). These 26 eyes yielded on fungal culture a total of 28 isolates (in 2 eyes, another fungus was isolated on repeat culture). 11 types of fungi were cultured--C. albicans and A. niger accounted for 5 each out of 28. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report in the literature of fungal flora analysed in congenital dacryocystitis--not surprisingly, more than 30% of eyes were positive for fungus. Systemic studies of fungal flora in dacryocystitis are very few, and hardly any literature on this subject exists in congenital dacryocystitis. This study is an attempt to determine the frequency and clinical significance of fungi isolated from cases of congenital dacryocystitis.