ENDOPHTHALMITIS IN OPHTHALMOLOGICAL REFERRAL CENTRE IN COLOMBIA: AETIOLOGY AND MICROBIAL RESISTANCE.

AIMS: To describe the aetiology and microbial susceptibility profile of endophthalmitis cases treated at an ophthalmological referral centre in Colombia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective descriptive study was carried out with all endophthalmitis cases referred to the Fundación Oftalmológica de Santander FOSCAL (Floridablanca, Colombia) from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2015. RESULTS: 121 eyes of 121 patients were evaluated. 77.7% of them were male and the mean age was 42.9 years. Five of them (4.1%) corresponded to endogenous endophthalmitis, and 116 (95.9%) to exogenous endophthalmitis. Of the latter, 66.9% were associated with trauma (almost one-half of them associated with intraocular foreign body), and 29.5% with intraocular surgery. The most common isolated microorganisms in the exogenous endophthalmitis group corresponded to methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive strains of Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus, which were mostly susceptible to imipenem, vancomycin and moxifloxacin and resistant to ceftazidime. CONCLUSION: Endophthalmitis is a potentially sight-threatening condition, especially in cases of inadequate treatment. Therefore, antimicrobial therapy should be guided by vitreous humour culture to assure that the causative microorganism is susceptible to the selected agent. The results of our study lead us to propose vancomycin, moxifloxacin or imipenem as first-line antimicrobial options.

Comparison of three optical biometers: IOLMaster 500, Lenstar LS 900 and Aladdin.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the results of optical biometry using the IOLMaster 500, Lenstar LS 900 and Aladdin in eyes with cataract. METHODS: In 231 eyes of 152 patients with cataract, the measurements of 3 different biometers were retrospectively compared. Paired comparisons were performed for axial length (AL), mean keratometry (mean K) and anterior chamber depth (ACD). RESULTS: In only 197 of the 231 eyes (85.3%), it was possible to obtain reliable measurements of AL with all the three devices. It was not possible to determine AL in 16 eyes (6.9%) with Lenstar LS 900; in 19 eyes (8.2%) with Aladdin; and in 20 eyes (8.6%) with IOLMaster 500 possibly related to the severity of lens opacification (the corneas had good transparency in the eyes included in the study). There was a statistically significant difference in AL between IOLMaster 500 and the remaining two biometers (P = 0.03). However, the amount of difference was considered clinically not significant (0.04 mm). The mean keratometry (mean K) was determined in 203 eyes (87.9%) with all the three devices. Differences in mean K were between - 0.1 and 0.06 Diopters (D), which were considered neither statistically (P > 0.05) nor clinically significant. The anterior chamber depth (ACD) was determined in 197 eyes (85.28%) with all the three biometers. The differences between the three devices (0.03 to 0.13 mm) were not statistically significant and considered also clinically not significant. CONCLUSIONS: There were no clinically significant differences between these 3 biometers in AL, mean K and ACD.