Endophthalmitis: Magnitude, treatment and visual outcome in northwest frontier province of Pakistan

Background :Many cases of post-operative and posttraumatic endophthalmitis are being managed at the Khyber Institute of Ophthalmic Medical Sciences, Peshawar in Pakistan but no study has been done to ascertain the magnitude of the disease and to also evaluate the visual outcome after management. Methods : The case notes of 39 patients diagnosed with posttraumatic and postoperative endophthalmitis between May 2006 and April 2007 were analyzed and clinical characteristics obtained were documented and tabulated. Results : During the study period, 2474 patients were admitted in both the male and female wards. Of these, 39 (1.6%) had endophthalmitis due to surgical and traumatic complications. In all, 6 (12.4%) patients had evisceration, while 21 (53.8%) patients who had topical antibiotics consisting of ofloxacin, 0.1% corticosteroids, fortified cetazoline and 1% atropine along with intravitreal antibiotics, a combination of 0.1mg vancomycin and 0.4mg amikacin, were discharged home with a visual acuity of counting fingers to light perception. Conclusion : Endophthalmitis is a serious ocular complication of open globe injury and intraocular surgery. The frequency in this center has been noted to be very high as compared to other places. Its management is very challenging and often leads to devastating structural and functional damage to the eye; causing severe frustration to both the patient and the attending physician. Efforts must be made to prevent the condition.