Antibiotics and Resistance in Ocular Infections – Indian

As in many parts of the world, infections of the eye are common in India and a wide variety of antibacterial as well as antifungal antibiotics are available in the market. Antibiotics can be administered in the eye by a number of routes; topical, subconjunctival, subtenon and intraocular. Peculiar to the treatment of eye infections, fortified eye drops from parenteral formulations are often used. These preparations achieve high concentrations; usually much above the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Fair amount of research on antibiotic resistance in India deals with bacterial infections, however, studies on antibiotic susceptibility of fungal isolates are limited. The resistance in bacteria seems to be increasing in parallel with the increase seen over the years in bacteria associated with systemic infections. Although it is believed that the rise in resistant ocular bacterial isolates is linked to the rise in resistant systemic pathogens, recent evidence has correlated the emergence of resistant bacteria in the eye to prior topical antibiotic therapy. Probably, either of these contributes to the emergence of resistance among bacteria and fungi associated with eye infections. This review describes the current scenario of antifungal and antibacterial Savitri Sharma, MD, FAMS Antibiotics and Resistance in Ocular Infections–Indian Perspective Director, Laboratory Services, LVPEI-Network L V Prasad Eye Institute Patia, Bhubaneswar751024 Orissa, India. Ph: 91-0674-3987 129 Email: [email protected] susceptibility of fungi and bacteria associated with eye infections with special reference to the Indian subcontinent.