deep vitrectomy with and without silicone oil in infectious endophthalmitis

purpose: to evaluate the efficacy of silicone oil injection after deep vitrectomy in infectious endophthalmitis regarding visual acuity. methods: this single-blind randomized clinical trial was performed on 50 cases of infectious endophthalmitis undergoing deep vitrectomy. patients were randomly assigned to two groups: in one group silicone oil was injected into the eye at the end of the operation (silicone group) and in the second group the eye was formed with balanced salt solution (non-silicone group). all patients were followed for more than six months. results: the underlying cause of endophthalmitis was cataract surgery in 23 patients (46%د), trauma in 20 patients (40%), bleb-associated endophthalmitis in 3 patients (6%), corneal graft in 2 patients (4%) and endogenous in 2 patients (4%). mean visual acuity was 2.1 logmar in the silicone group and 4.0 logmar in the non-silicone group (p< 0.0001). conclusion: silicone oil injection may be beneficial in terms of visual outcomes in deep vitrectomy for infectious endophthalmitis.