Fungal organisms (61%) are the most common cause of infectious keratitis in this patient population. Of all organisms, S. pneumoniae was the most common organism identified. Smear microscopy is reliable in rapidly determining the etiology of the corneal infection and can be used to help guide initial therapy in this setting.
Purpose To determine differences in the clinical characteristics and antifungal susceptibility patterns among molecularly characterized ocular Fusarium sp isolates. Methods 58 Fusarium isolates obtained from 52 eyes of 52 patients were retrieved from the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute’s (BPEI) ocular microbiology laboratory and grown in pure culture. These isolates were characterized based on DNA sequence analysis of the ITS1/2 and rDNA regions. Antifungal susceptibilities were determined for each isolate using broth microdilution methods and the corresponding medical records were reviewed to determine clinical outcomes. Results Fusarium (F.) solani isolates had significantly higher voriconazole MIC90 values than F. non-solani organisms (16 and 4ug/ml, respectively). F. solani isolates also exhibited a significantly longer time to cure (65 vs 40.5 days), a worse follow up BCVA (20/118 vs 20/36), and increased need for urgent surgical management (7 vs 0 penetrating keratoplasties) when compared to F. non-solani isolates. Conclusions This is the first report to examine the correlation between ocular genotyped Fusarium species and clinical outcomes. It supports the overall worse prognosis for F. solani versus F. non-solani isolates, including higher voriconazole resistance by the former. The clinical implementation of molecular-based diagnostics and antifungal efficacy testing, may yield important prognostic and therapeutic information that could improve the management of fungal ocular infections.
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