Enterobacter endophthalmitis: Clinical settings, susceptibility profile, and management outcomes across two decades

Purpose: To describe the clinical presentation and management of Enterobacter endophthalmitis and compare with previous in-house published literature. Methods: This was a retrospective interventional comparative case series involving 44 cases with culture proven Enterobacter endophthalmitis from April 2006 to August 2018 who underwent vitrectomy/vitreous biopsy, intravitreal antibiotics with or without additional procedures as appropriate. The current outcomes were compared to the outcomes previously reported a decade back from our center. The mean age at presentation, predisposing factor, number of interventions, interval between inciting event and presentation, type of intravitreal antibiotic used, anatomic, and the functional outcomes were analyzed and compared to the previous series. Results: There were 30 males. Mean age was 22.73 � 21.35 years (median 14 years). Inciting event was open globe injury in 34 (77.27%) eyes, 4 (9.09%) eyes following cataract surgery, 3 (6.81%) eyes with endogenous endophthalmitis, 2 (4.54%) eyes following keratoplasty, and 1 eye (2.27%) following trabeculectomy. Presenting visual acuity was favorable (?20/400) in 2 eyes (4.54%), at the final visit it was in 11 eyes (25%). The organisms were most sensitive to ciprofloxacin (95.12%), amikacin (90.47%), and ceftazidime (85.36%). A comparison of the current study with previous in-house study showed that number of eyes with presenting vision ?20/400 as well as final vision ?20/400 were comparable. Susceptibility was highest to ciprofloxacin 39 (95.12%) (previous series) and 33 (92%) (current series). Conclusion: Enterobacter organisms show susceptibility to ciprofloxacin, amikacin, and ceftazidime. Susceptibility profile, clinical presentations, and management remain largely similar over many years. Final outcome is unfavorable.

Learning curve of a trained vitreo-retinal surgeon in sub-retinal injections in a rat model: Implications for future clinical trials

Purpose: The sub-retinal injections are not very commonly performed procedures in vitreoretina, but form a crucial step in any cell replacement therapy for retinal diseases. The purpose of this study is to describe the learning curve of a trained vitreo-retinal surgeon in sub-retinal injections in a rat model and its implications in future clinical trials. Methods: This is an in-vivo retrospective animal study using Wistar rats. All ARVO guidelines regarding animal handling were followed. After anesthetization, aspectic preparation and dilating the pupils with 1% tropicamide eye drops, subretinal injection of 10 ?l saline was done via a limbal entry. Data recorded included time taken for the procedure, success of injection, associated complications, post-operative infections and complications. The rats were followed up for 1 month post procedure. A trend analysis was done for the above factors to look for improvement in ease of procedure, reduction in procedure time and reduction in complications for the clinician using a novel objective scale. Results: About 20 eyes were studied. Mean weight of the rats was 188 ± 12.82 gram. Mean time taken for the procedure was 14.1 ± 5.07 minutes. There was a significant inverse co-relation between the serial number of the eye and time taken for the procedure (r = ?0.89, P < 0.0001). Comparative complications noted between the first ten and the last ten eyes were: conjunctival tear 30% versus 10% (P = 0.27), lens touch 50% versus 10% (P = 0.05), subretinal hemorrhage 40% versus 0% (P = 0.13), vitreous loss 30% versus 0% (P = 0.06). The successful subretinal injection without intraocular complications was achieved in 40% versus 90% (P = 0.02). There was a significant co-relation between the serial number of the eye and ease of the procedure (r = 0.87, P < 0.0001). Post operatively none of the eyes had any infection. Six eyes (12%) developed cataract and 3 eyes (6%) had non-resolving retinal detachment at the last examination visit. Conclusion: Subretinal injections in rats have a definite learning curve even for a trained vitreoretinal surgeon. This should be accounted for and resources allocated accordingly to achieve good technical comfort and negate confounding by the surgeon factor in the results of future clinical trials

Clinical presentations and comparative outcomes of primary versus deferred intraocular lens explantation in delayed-onset endophthalmitis

Purpose: To describe clinical presentations and comparative outcomes of primary versus deferred intraocular lens (IOL) explantation in delayed-onset endophthalmitis. Methods: In this retrospective study, a total of 77 eyes of 77 patients that were diagnosed clinically as delayed-onset endophthalmitis and underwent IOL explantation from January 1990 to January 2018 were included undiluted vitreous biopsy and IOL were subjected to microbiologic evaluation. Duration of symptoms, presenting visual acuity, organisms isolated, time to IOL explantation, time to endophthalmitis, resolution after explantation, number of repeat intravitreal injections, and final visual acuity were compared in the primary and the deferred IOL explantation groups. Results: There were primary and deferred IOL explantations. Interval between inciting event and endophthalmitis, between onset of symptoms to presentation, total follow-up, complication rate, and final visual acuity was comparable between the two groups. Median time to IOL explantation in the deferred group was 70 days. Between the primary and deferred IOL explantation groups the number of repeat intravitreal injections was 0.58 ± 0.86 and 2.62 ± 1.78 respectively, (P < 0.0001, 95% confidence interval, CI 2.00–2.22); the number of days to resolution after IOL explantation was 35.16 ± 14.26 and 55.5 ± 8.24 respectively, (P < 0.0001, 95% CI 15.22–25.45). Conclusion: Early IOL explantation in delayed-onset endophthalmitis causes faster clinical resolution and reduces the number of repeat intravitreal injections. Final visual improvement, however, may be unaffected.

Choroidal neovascularization associated with combined hamartoma of retina and retinal pigment epithelium: Multimodal imaging

Combined hamartoma of retina and retinal pigment epithelium (CHRRPE) has been considered as a congenital benign entity with evidence of choroidal neovascularization membranes (CNVM) being associated with it in literature. This case series gives insight into the pathogenesis and the predisposing factors leading to CNVM formation in peripapillary CHRRPE using swept-source optical coherence tomography. In addition, lack of typical markers of CNVM (subretinal fluid/pigment epithelial detachment) in CHRRPE highlights the utility of optical coherence tomography angiography and the subtle optical coherence tomography findings such as “Bridge Sign” that could be instrumental in early diagnosis of CNVM in CHRRPE.