Infectious keratitis: trends in microbiological and antibiotic sensitivity patterns.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Microbiology
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Infectious keratitis is a significant cause of vision loss.
• Understanding microbial trends and antibiotic susceptibility is crucial for effective treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the spectrum and trends of microorganisms causing infectious keratitis.
• To evaluate antibiotic susceptibility patterns over a six-year period.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of microbiology records for infectious keratitis cases.
• Analysis of 6282 corneal scrapings from a referral center.

Main Results:

• 2479 (39.5%) cultures were positive.
• Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most common overall, but Streptococcus pneumoniae predominated in older patients.
• Increasing prevalence of gram-positive bacteria and decreasing Pseudomonas keratitis observed.
• Significant resistance to levofloxacin noted in Staphylococcus aureus (34.1%) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (29.7%).
• Increasing odds of ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin resistance over time.

Conclusions:

• An increasing trend in gram-positive bacteria causing keratitis was documented.
• Levofloxacin may be suitable for gram-negative bacterial keratitis.
• Combination antibiotic therapy is recommended for staphylococcal keratitis due to rising fluoroquinolone resistance.