Abstract
BackgroundTo compare clinical characteristics and antibiotic susceptibilities in patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) and P. putida (PP) keratitis at a tertiary referral center in South Korea.MethodsForty-nine cases of inpatients with culture-proven PA and PP keratitis were reviewed retrospectively between January 1998 and December 2017. We excluded cases of polymicrobial infection. Epidemiology, predisposing factors, clinical characteristics, antibiotic susceptibilities, and treatment outcomes were compared between the PA and PP groups. The risk factors for poor clinical outcome were evaluated on the basis of the total cohort and analyzed using multivariate logistic regression.ResultsA total of 33 eyes with PA keratitis and 16 eyes with PP keratitis were included. The mean age was 47.0 years in the PA group and 59.3 years in the PP group (p = 0.060). Differences were observed between the PA and PP groups in hypopyon (45.5% vs 6.3%, p = 0.006) and symptom duration (4.3 vs 9.5 days, p = 0.022). The most common predisposing factor for PA was wearing contact lenses (36.4%) and that for PP was corneal trauma (62.5%). No significant differences were observed in sex, previous topical steroid use, systemic disease, or duration of hospitalization between the two groups. The PA and PP groups both demonstrated good efficacy of colistin (both 100%), tobramycin (93.3%, 100%), ceftazidime (93.9%, 87.5%), and ciprofloxacin (96.6%, 87.5%). Imipenem (100% vs 81.3%, p = 0.030), piperacillin (96.6% vs 75%, p = 0.047), and ticarcillin (85% vs 0%, p < 0.001) showed significantly lower efficacy in the PP group than in the PA group. A poor clinical outcome was observed in 31.2% of the PA group and 37.5% of the PP group (p = 0.665). The risk factors for poor clinical outcome were previous ocular surface disease (odds ratio 10.79, p = 0.012) and hypopyon (odds ratio 9.02, p = 0.024).ConclusionsThe PA group was more closely associated with younger age, wearing contact lenses, shorter symptom duration, and hypopyon, whereas the PP group was more closely associated with elderly age, corneal trauma, and decreased efficacy of the beta-lactams. Clinical outcomes were not significantly different between the two groups. Previous ocular surface disease and hypopyon were the risk factors for poor clinical outcome.
Highlights
To compare clinical characteristics and antibiotic susceptibilities in patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) and P. putida (PP) keratitis at a tertiary referral center in South Korea
33 cases of PA and 16 cases of PP were included in the study
The mean age was higher in the PP group than in the PA group with no significant difference (59.3 ± 18.9 vs 47.0 ± 24.4 years, p = 0.060)
Summary
To compare clinical characteristics and antibiotic susceptibilities in patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) and P. putida (PP) keratitis at a tertiary referral center in South Korea. The Pseudomonas species are ubiquitous gram-negative bacteria that are major opportunistic human pathogens that cause infection, including that of the cornea. P. aeruginosa (PA) is one of the pathogens most destructive to the eye and is a leading cause of bacterial keratitis in contact lens (CL) wearers and those with ocular injuries [1, 2]. Pseudomonas species other than PA are considered to be less virulent than PA. This is explained by genetic differences such as the presence of DNA associated with the synthesis of protease IV [3]. P. putida (PP) belongs to the fluorescent group of Pseudomonas species, a group of opportunistic pathogens that primarily cause nosocomial infections [4]. In the field of ophthalmology, there are few reports of P. putida keratitis [6]
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