Endophthalmitis caused by Citrobacter species: a case series

To report the clinical profile and drug sensitivity patterns in Citrobacter endophthalmitis.

Retrospective interventional case series.

Retrospective analysis of all the cases of Citrobacter endophthalmitis presenting to a tertiary referral ophthalmic centre in eastern India from January 2009 to December 2011 was done.

Five cases were included in the study. Of these 5, 1 was posttraumatic, 1 was of endogenous origin, and the rest were postoperative. Vitreous surgery was done for 3 cases, whereas 1 patient declined surgery. The endogenous case received only intravitreal antibiotics. All isolates were sensitive to ciprofloxacin. Only 1 of the 5 isolates was sensitive to ceftazidime. Only 1 eye achieved a final visual acuity of 20/60 and the rest became phthisical at final follow-up.

Citrobacter is a rare cause of endophthalmitis with poor outcome. Ciprofloxacin should be considered as the first line of treatment.