We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional study to analyze predisposing factors, clinical features, and microbiological characteristics of patients with microbial keratitis hospitalized over 10 years.The medical records of 558 patients who were diagnosed with microbial keratitis and admitted to Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CGMH), a referral center in Taiwan, from January 1, 2003 to Decembe...

We read with interest the recent article by Tendolkar et al. (5). We have been seeing and treating cases of Nocardia keratitis for a long time and have published our experiences previously (3, 4). We would like to share some of our observations on this condition for the benefit of JCM’s readers. Nocardia keratitis can occur in immunocompetent patients following minor trauma (3). While lagophtha...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Topical corticosteroid use in the setting of infectious keratitis has been a controversial issue. The aim of this review is to provide an update on the evidence for use of topical corticosteroids in addition to antibiotics in bacterial keratitis. RECENT FINDINGS Judicious use of steroids is postulated to limit the inflammatory component of bacterial keratitis, but can theore...

BACKGROUND Infectious crystalline keratopathy is a rare, progressive infection characterized by the insidious progression of branches and crystalline corneal opacities with minimal or no inflammation. This case report describes the evolution of an infectious crystalline keratopathy caused by Cladosporium sp., which developed after tectonic keratoplasty in a patient with a history of ocular trau...

Corneal collagen cross-linking (CxL) is a prevalent surgical method for the management of keratoconus. However, literature suggests that, further to keratoconus, CxL has a beneficial impact on a series of corneal related diseases and states. This article attempts to provide a contemporary review for all additional applications of CxL. Specifically, it outlines the most recent studies that demon...

Purpose. To describe the presence of secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI), a cationic peptide with antimicrobial and antiprotease activity in the innate immune reaction in a rat model of Staphylococcus aureus keratitis. Methods. Forty female Lewis rats were divided into 2 groups: the infectious keratitis and the epithelial defect groups. Eyes were processed for immunohistochemical stud...

Aims: To evaluate a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based assay to detect fungi in scrapings from infected corneas. Methods: A PCR assay was developed to amplify a portion of the fungal 18S ribosome gene. Corneal scrapings from 30 patients with presumed infectious keratitis were evaluated using this assay, as well as by standard microbiological techniques, and the results were compared. Conjunc...