Incidence and outcome of endophthalmitis over a 13-year period

Abstract Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the functional results and long-term visual prognosis in patients treated for acute endophthalmitis (AE). Design: Observational clinical series. Participants: Evaluation of 120 eyes of 114 patients with AE treated between 1991 and 2004. Methods: This retrospective institutional analysis included 120 eyes of 114 patients (52 male, 68 female) with AE and a minimum follow-up of half a year. The patients had a mean follow-up of 23 months (6–135 months) and a mean age of 61 years (8 months-94 years) at the time of treatment. Treatment included intraocular injection of antibiotics alone ( n = 18, 15%) and vitrectomy combined with intraocular and topical postoperative antibiotics ( n = 85, 70%). Results: The most frequent complications were vitreous or retinal hemorrhages ( n = 17, 14%), retinal detachment ( n = 17, 14%), choroidal detachment ( n = 3, 3%), secondary glaucoma ( n = 7, 6%), and recurrent endophthalmitis ( n = 3, 3%). Four eyes had to be enucleated because of recurrent and uncontrollable infection. Positive microbiological results were achieved in 67 of 88 specimens (76%). The most common isolate was Staphylococcus. At the end of follow-up, visual acuity was reduced (more than 2 lines) in 18 eyes (15%), stable in 22 (18%), and improved (more than 2 lines) in 72 eyes (60%). Conclusions: AE is a rare but severe disease with a potentially deleterious outcome in affected eyes. In our series, 78% of all eyes had stable or improved postoperative visual acuity following various treatment regimens, depending on the severity of each case.