Microbiological Profile of Infectious Keratitis During Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Purpose The Covid-19 pandemic introduced significant changes in our daily life, including the widespread use of face masks. The purpose of this study was to assess if significant changes occurred in the microbiological profile of infectious keratitis. Patients and Methods A retrospective study was performed, based on a survey review of the electronic medical records of all patients with presumed infectious keratitis, between March 2020 and October 2021. The microbiological isolates in this sample (pandemic group) were compared with those obtained in our center between 2009 and 2018 (pre-pandemic group). Results A total of 194 samples were included in the pandemic group. We obtained a culture-positivity rate of 43.3%, which was significantly higher when compared with the pre-pandemic data (35.15%, p = 0.033). Several further significant differences were found between the pandemic and the pre-pandemic groups: the proportion of bacteria, including gram-positive and gram-negative groups, was higher in our sample (pre-pandemic vs pandemic: 76.78% vs 83.33%, p = 0.010; 53.35% vs 60.71%, p = 0.016; 23.43% vs 34.52%, p = 0.005, respectively); two populations of Gram-positive bacteria found in this study were not isolated in the pre-pandemic sample – Dolosigranulum pigrum and Propionibacterium spp.; and two bacterial isolates were significantly increased in our sample – Corynebacterium spp. (18.41% vs 29.76%, p = 0.003) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (9.00% vs 16.66%, p = 0.012). Conclusion In conclusion, significant changes were found in the microbiological profile of infectious keratitis in our center during the Covid-19 pandemic. While these changes could be related to face mask use, more observational and experimental studies are needed to explore this possible association.

Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada disease

“…They deduced that the instability of tear film was due to the reduced blink rate resulting from prolonged screen time. Lima-Fontes et al found that the culture-positivity rate of infectious keratitis was significantly higher than that in the prepandemic (2009–2018) data 34 . The authors reported that these changes could be linked to the use of face masks 34 .…”

“…Lima-Fontes et al found that the culture-positivity rate of infectious keratitis was significantly higher than that in the prepandemic (2009–2018) data 34 . The authors reported that these changes could be linked to the use of face masks 34 . Fontes Junior et al reported a decrease in new patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas the rate of malignant tumors increased 35 .…”

Demographic and microbiological profile of corneal ulcer patients presenting at a tertiary healthcare center of Eastern India during the COVID era: A hospital-based cross-sectional study

“…Table 5 summarizes various comparative and noncomparative studies on microbiological and demographic profile of corneal ulcers during COVID-19. [ 29 30 31 32 33 ] The current study is the only prospective study on demographic and microbiological profile of corneal ulcers during COVID-19 era.…”