RESUMO
AIM: To assess clinical, microbiological and therapeutical characteristics of patients presenting with a clinically diagnosed corneal abscess at the Nabeul Hospital Department of Ophthalmology (Tunisia). METHODS: A retrospective study of patients presenting corneal abscess was conducted over 6 years. The clinical aspects, the microbial isolation, the treatment, and the outcome were analyzed. RESULTS: sixty-one eyes of 61 patients were hospitalized from January 2000 to October 2006. The mean age was 59.2 years old. The mean delay for referral was 8.7 days. Risk factors were noted in 90% of cases: corneal trauma (24.6%), ocular surgery (19.7%) and chronic keratopathy (14.7%). Bacteriological cultures of corneal smears isolated an organism in 39.9% of cases. Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (16.3%), streptococcus (13.1%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (8.1%) were the most frequent species. Poor visual outcome was correlated with anterior chamber inflammation and initial low visual acuity. CONCLUSION: Corneal trauma was the most common risk factor of corneal abcess. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment are important for successful management of bacterial keratitis to avoid corneal vision loss.
