Study of prevalence of preventable keratitis, seasonal variation, and microbiological etiology along with quack practice in a Tertiary Eye Care Center in Maharashtra - Central India

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to evaluate the prevalence of preventable keratitis, seasonal variations, and microbiological etiology along with quack practices presented at a Tertiary Eye Care Center in Maharashtra (Central India), over a period of 1 year. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study of microbiology of corneal scraping reports in infectious keratitis cases from July 17, 2017 to June 17 2018. Incidence of bacterial and fungal keratitis and culture growth were analyzed for seasonal pattern. Type and frequency of quack practice in the patients were analyzed as well. Results: Among the 795 infectious keratitis cases, culture growth was positive in 322 (40.5%) samples; 258 (80.1%) and 64 (19.9%) were of fungal and bacterial etiology, respectively. The predominant fungal organism was Fusarium Spp. (61.2%) and the predominant bacteria organisms were Streptococcus spp. and Nocardia with (28.1/%) each. Seasonal statistics showed peak in infectious keratitis in rainy seasons with higher incidence of fungal keratitis. It was seen that in 50% of the participants, trauma was the predisposing factor. Six percent of the patients had a history of quack practice from which 53% removed the foreign body with the tip of the tongue. Conclusions: Infectious keratitis is a common problem in central India, with fungal being the most common etiology with surge in rainy season. A significant number of patients still prefer traditional ways of treatment hence awareness and basic knowledge can prevent blindness caused by preventable infectious keratitis.