Clinical and Microiological Profile of Infective Keratitis in a Tertiary Care Hospital in North India

Abstract

Introduction:Infective Keratitis refers to the diseases affecting cornea caused by infective agents which leads to necrosis and suppuration resulting in corneal tissue ulcers. It is a potentially blinding condition that must be treated emergently to preserve vision. Fungal corneal ulcers are the most common, accounting for 30-40% of the cases followed by bacterial, viral and amoebic corneal ulcers.Methods: It was a prospective, open labelled, interventional study including 75 patients of infective keratitis reporting to the Ophthalmology OPD at Rajindra Hospital, Patiala. Cases diagnosed with microbial keratitis were evaluated clinically using slit lamp biomicroscope and microbiologically using smears and cultures. The patients were treated accordingly and followed up to analyze the treatment response and outcomes in these patients.Results: Out of 75 patients enrolled in the study, 31 were diagnosed to have fungal keratitis (41.3%), 22 had bacterial keratitis (29.3%) and 6 had mixed infection (8%). 9 patients were diagnosed with viral keratitis based on the clinical picture. Aspergillus was the most commonly isolated fungal species followed by Fusarium and Staphylococcus was the most common isolated bacteria. Fungal keratitis took the longest to heal and had maximum complications compared to other etiologies. Conclusion:Being an agricultural state the incidence of fungal keratitis is much more in Punjab compared to other microbes. Treating a fungal corneal ulcer is very challenging inspite of the available diagnostic and treatment methods.