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Bacterial keratitis following phototherapeutic keratectomy
A A al-Rajhi1, M D Wagoner, I A Badr
1Anterior Segment Division/External Disease Division, King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Background:
Phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK) is effective in the treatment of many superficial corneal disorders. The incidence of bacterial keratitis following PTK has not been assessed in a large, prospective clinical trial.
Methods:
We report three cases of bacterial keratitis that occurred in a prospective study of 258 consecutive PTK procedures at King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital.
Results:
Three (1.2%) of 258 eyes developed bacterial keratitis during a period of follow up ranging from 1 to 24 months. All three cases were in 183 eyes (1.6%) with a diagnosis of climatic droplet keratopathy, while no cases were observed in 75 eyes with other anterior corneal disorders. Gram-positive species (Streptococcus pneumonia in two, coagulase-negative Staphylococcus in one) were the predominant species isolated from all three cases. Two of the cases were polybacterial. The final visual outcomes ranged from 20/125 to 20/400.
Conclusions:
The risk of bacterial keratitis following treatment of superficial corneal disorders with PTK is low but its occurrence may adversely affect the final visual outcome.
