Purpose. To compare the prevalence of and factors associated with Demodex brevis and Demodex folliculorum in patients with cylindrical dandruff (CD group) and healthy controls. Methods. Eyelashes were taken from 1680 patients with CD and 1700 healthy controls in China from March 2015 to May 2017. All patients underwent a complete eye examination, and Demodex spp. were counted. The prevalence was analyzed according to age, gender, and clinical features. Results. Mean patient age was 42.93 ± 16.52 (3–88) and 39.4 ± 13.6 (7–81) years old in the CD and healthy control groups, respectively. In the CD and healthy groups, the positive rate for Demodex folliculorum was 27.92% and 8.47%, respectively, while that for Demodex brevis was 31.67% and 6.65%, respectively. In the CD group, the prevalence of Demodex brevis was higher than that of Demodex folliculorum, no matter in the females (33.65% versus 29.01%) or the males (28.54% versus 23.88%) in the CD group. Moreover, the numbers of Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis were significantly and positively correlated with age, in both children and old patients (both P<0.001), as well as with the severity of eyelid congestion (all P<0.05). Conclusions. In a large sample population, the prevalence of Demodex brevis and Demodex folliculorum was higher in the CD group than in healthy volunteers. In addition, the severity of eyelid congestion might be exacerbated by the number of Demodex spp., which may therefore provide a good clinical reference and objective guide.
This study aimed to compare the differences of microbial spectrum and antibiotic resistance patterns between external and intraocular bacterial infections in an eye hospital in South China. A total of 737 bacteria isolates from suspected ocular infections were included in this retrospective study covering the period 2010–2013. The organisms cultured from the ocular surface (cornea, conjunctiva) accounted for the majority of the isolates (82.77%, n = 610), followed by the intraocular (aqueous humor, vitreous fluid), which accounted for 17.23% (n = 127). The top three species accounting for the external ocular infections were S. epidermidis (35.25%), P. aeruginosa (8.03%), and S. simulans (4.43%). The top three species for the intraocular infections were S. epidermidis (14.96%), S. hominis (8.66%), and B. subtilis (7.87%). The bacteria from the external ocular surface were more sensitive to neomycin, while those from the intraocular specimens were more sensitive to levofloxacin (P < 0.01). Multidrug resistance was found in 89 bacteria (12.08%), including isolates from both external (13.28%) and intraocular samples (6.30%). The results of this study indicate that the bacteria spectrum of external and intraocular infections is variable in the setting. A high percentage of bacterial organisms were found to be primarily susceptible to neomycin for external infection and levofloxacin for intraocular infection.
Staphylococcus spp. was the most common bacterial pathogens isolated from patients with corneal infections in this setting. High percentages of GP and GN bacteria were mostly susceptible to neomycin and highly resistant to chloramphenicol.
BackgroundFusarium species are opportunistic causative agents of superficial and disseminated human infections. Fast and accurate identification and targeted antifungal therapy give help to improve the patients’ prognosis.ObjectivesThis study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for Fusarium identification, and investigate the epidemiology and antifungal susceptibility profiles of clinical Fusarium isolates in Southern China.MethodsThere were 95 clinical Fusarium isolates identified by DNA sequencing of translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1α) and MALDI-TOF MS, respectively. Antifungal susceptibility testing of isolates was performed by broth microdilution according to the CLSI approved standard M38-A3 document.ResultsSeven species complexes (SC) with 17 Fusarium species were identified. The most prevalent SC was the F. solani SC (70.5%, 67/95), followed by the F. fujikuroi SC (16.8%, 16/95). F. keratoplasticum within the F. solani SC was the most prevalent species (32.6%, 31/95). There were 91.6% (87/95) of isolates identified by MALDI-TOF MS at the SC level. In most of species, amphotericin B and voriconazole showed lower MICs compared to itraconazole and terbinafine. The F. solani SC showed higher MICs to these antifungal agents compared to the other SCs. There were 10.5% (10/95) of strains with high MICs for amphotericin B (≥8 μg/ml), terbinafine (≥32 μg/ml) and itraconazole (≥32 μg/ml) simultaneously, mostly focusing on F. keratoplasticum (9/10).ConclusionMALDI-TOF MS exhibited good performance on the identification of Fusarium strains at the SC level. The F. solani SC was the most prevalent clinical SC in Southern China. The MICs varied significantly among different species or SCs to different antifungal agents.
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