Epidemiological, Clinical and Microbiological Characteristics of Patients with Infectious Keratitis

Abstract

Objective: To determine the epidemiologic and clinical-microbiologic characteristics in patients diagnosed with infectious keratitis.

Methods: A descriptive, retrospective study of case series (297) patients diagnosed with infectious keratitis treated at the Cornea service of the Cuban Institute of Ophthalmology, Ramón Pando Ferrer, between January 2019 and December 2023 was performed.

Results: The average age was 56.8 years, male sex predominated (65.7 %), most patients were retired (29.3 %) and came from the urban sector (72.1 %). The main risk factors were ocular surface diseases (13.1 %). Bacteria predominated in the cultures performed (51.8 %) and among them, gram-negative bacilli (45.5 %), particularly the species Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Topical antibacterials (99.3 %) were the main pharmacological treatment and surgical treatment was performed in 28.3 % of the patients, of which 38.0 % corresponded to tectonic-therapeutic keratoplasty. The 44.8 % of the patients admitted had a favorable evolution, with a hospital stay of seven days.

Conclusions: The main risk factor for the development of infectious keratitis is ocular surface diseases. Bacterial origin is predominant. Antibacterial treatment demonstrates its efficacy with a low percentage of surgical interventions and an average clinical improvement of 7 days.