Infectious keratitis world wide are a leading cause of ocular morbidity and blindness. A large number of filamentous fungi, Yeasts and Zygomycetes have been incriminated as the causative agent of mycotic keratitis. Early diagnosis and treatment is important in preventing complications like corneal perforation, scleral spread and endopthalmitis. The present study was conducted to elucidate the epidemiological features of mycotic keratitis and study the fungal profile of mycotic keratitis of patients attending our hospital, which is situated on the coastal area of Karnataka. A total of 127 patients with infectious keratitis were investigated between January 2009 to June 2010. Corneal scraping was obtained from 127 patients under aseptic precaution. The scraping was subjected to 10% KOH wet mount, Gram's staining and culture. Of the total 127 patients suspected of having infectious keratitis, 44 (34.65%) were found to be positive for fungal aetiology. Of these, 40(90.90%) cases were positive on direct microscopy for fungal elements and 26(59.09%) cases showed growth on culture after incubation for 2-8 days. In 14 (31.81%) cases, the culture was found to be sterile despite positive direct microscopic findings, but the results were consistent with clinical findings. Positive culture was obtained in 4(09.09%) cases where direct microscopy was found to be negative. The commonest fungi isolated were Aspergillus species (61.5%) Mycotic keratitis continues to be an important cause of ocular morbidity, predominantly among rural population. Prompt diagnosis and early institution of antifungal therapy may limit the ocular morbidity and the sequelae of infectious keratitis. As the manifestation of mycotic keratitis is often confusing, a high degree of suspicion with sound knowledge of predisposing factors and microbiological confirmation is very essential to initiate appropriate therapy.
Gram negative sepsis and intestinal opportunistic infections including Cryptosporidium, Isospora, Cyclospora, Microsporidia, S.stercoralis and Candida albicans are increasingly becoming prevalent in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients. These infections are clinically important primarily because many of these have the potential for serious and even lethal complications in immunosuppressed patients. Here, we are reporting a patient with Gram-negative sepsis, who was found to be co-infected with three of these opportunistic pathogens. She was also found to be positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibodies. To our knowledge, this has been reported once previously, and serves as a reminder to actively exclude S.stercoralis infection in immunocompromised individuals presenting with bacteraemia.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.