Clinical review of endogenous endophthalmitis in Korea: a 14-year review of culture positive cases of two large hospitals

To identify the clinical features and outcomes of endogenous endophthalmitis in Korea. We reviewed 18 patients with endogenous endophthalmitis at 2 Korean hospitals, treated over a 14 year period between January 1993 and December 2006. The comorbidities observed in these cases were diabetes mellitus and liver cirrhosis. The most common pathogens, which were found in 7 patients each (38.9%), were Klebsiella pneumonia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. All patients were treated with systemic antibiotics and fortified topical antibiotics. A surgical approach including vitrectomy was performed in 9 cases (50.0%). The prognosis was generally poor, and visual acuity improved slightly in 6 patients (33.3%). In this study, diabetes mellitus and Klebsiella pneumonia showed a close relationship with endogenous endophthalmitis, respectively. Endogenous endophthalmitis is a serious risk to sight and careful attention to establishing the diagnosis and management may decrease the ocular morbidity.