“SCREENING OF MICROBIOLOGICAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL PROFILE OF FUNGAL KERATITIS IN PATIENTS ATTENDING A TERTIARY CARE CENTRE AT FARRUKHABAD, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA”.
Main Article Content
Keywords
Infective keratitis, Corneal scrapings, Risk factors, Epidemiology, CLSI
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Infective keratitis is one of the leading causes of monocular blindness in developing countries in Asia and Africa. It is the fourth leading cause of blindness worldwide, and 1.5 to 2.0 million new cases reported every year and approximately there are 6.8 million cases of corneal blindness in India.Definitive diagnosis is by microbiological culture. So, knowledge of local etiological agents and their susceptibility helps to initiate prompt treatment and control the disease.
AIM AND OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to identify the fungal pathogenic agents, risk factors and to study epidemiological characteristics of fungal keratitis presenting at a tertiary care centre in Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross sectional, observational study carried out in the Department of Ophthalmology and Department of Microbiology. The Corneal scrapings were obtained from clinically suspected patients of keratomycosis. Aseptically collected corneal scrapings were subjected to Gram stain, KOH wet mount & Culture. The Further identification was done to study the Colony morphology, staining & biochemical tests according to the CLSI guidelines.
RESULTS: In the present study out of the total 80 suspected cases, 42(52.5%) were positive for fungal etiology. Of these 34(80.95%) were positive on KOH mount, 30(71.4%) and 25(59.5%) were positive in gram stain and culture. The ratio of Males (57.14%) were more commonly affected. In 14 out of 42 patients (33.33%) were of age group 31-40 years. It was observed that the Majority of patients were from agriculture (60%). The most common Risk factor for fungal keratitis was found to be ocular trauma (52.5%) followed by Diabetes (26.25%). In culture, aspergillus spp. (38.09%) were the predominant fungal spp. followed by other fungal spp.
CONCLUSION: Infective keratitis is a significant cause of ocular morbidity in Farrukhabad. The knowledge of epidemiology, risk factor, and microbiological profiles of infective keratitis can provide a valuable approach to disease prevention, diagnosis and management. Agricultural activity and related ocular trauma are principal causes of mycotic keratitis. A potassium hydroxide (KOH) wet mount preparation is a simple, and sensitive, method for diagnosis.
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Sanjeev Rohatgi
Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Major S D Singh Medical College, Farrukhabad, India
Shalini Rohatgi
Lecturer, Department of Pathology, Maharana Pratap Dental College, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India