Bacterial keratitis : risk factors and causative agents

Abstract EN

Objectives : to describe the clinical, microbiological characteristics and risk factors of Bacterial Keratitis at Prince Zeid and Rashed Military Hospitals.

Methods : A retrospective study of the hospital records of 35 patients who were diagnosed as Bacterial Keratitis and treated at the Ophthalmology in-patient department of Prince Zeid and Rashed Military Hospitals.

Patients with no corneal scraping, or culture and sensitivity findings, were excluded.

Risk factors, clinical and microbiological data were reviewed Results : in the period from January 2003 to October 2005 35 patients with bacterial Keratitis were identified, 21 (60 %) were males; 20 (57.1 %) had right eye involvement, 15 (42.9 %) had left eye involvement.

The common predisposing factors were ocular trauma in 16 (45.7 %), contact lens in 11 (31.4 %), ocular surface diseases in five (14.2 %) patients and one (2.8 %) patient for each of lagophthalmos, steroid eye drops and infected corneal suture.

Offending organisms were isolated in 17(50%) cases only.

Pseudomonas in 10 (58.8 % ) cases, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus spp.

each in 2 (11.8 %).

Empirical topical antibiotic treatment was unchanged in 28 (80 %) patients.

Topical steroid was employed in 2 (5.7 %) cases.

13 (37.1 %) patients were treated with systemic antibiotics.

Conclusion : bacterial keratitis often occurs following ocular trauma and in contact lenses wearers.

Pseudomonas was the major causative organism.

Proper sampling and microbiological workups are recommended to minimize the negative bacterial isolates.