Klebsiella pneumoniae Carbapenemase, Canada

ing responsible for nosocomial infection. Items used during the patient’s ocular surgery were confi rmed to be disposable and nonreused. Topical drops of corticosteroids commonly applied during cataract surgery for intraocular lens implantation penetrate ocular structures. An alternative hypothesis is that corticosteroids applied during ocular surgery reactivate a latent ocular infection. Our review indicated that 13 of 19 patients with documented T. whipplei uveitis had received topical or systemic corticosteroids before the diagnosis (Table) (7). Worsening of Whipple disease has been reported in patients receiving corticoid therapy for arthralgia (10). We speculate that our patient had an asymptomatic ocular infection before surgery. This case shows that ocular surgery and use of topical corticosteroids that penetrate ocular structures could reactivate a latent T. whipplei ocular infection. We suggest that patients with postoperative panendophthalmitis be tested for T. whipplei by PCR.