menopause was considered a pathologic state. Our sophisticated evidence-based clinical trials and basic science evaluation of estrogen receptor function are giving us an amazing understanding of the role of eu-estrogenemia. A large number of menopausal women are following the recommendation of “lowest dose for the shortest duration,” to treat vasomotor instability and urogenital atrophy. Also, ...

We present the first two cases of Kingella kingae keratitis in adults. This species is a rare isolate from ophthalmic samples for which final identification was obtained with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. One of the patients recovered uneventfully with topical therapy. Results from the second patient cannot be confirmed as he was lost to follow-up.

PURPOSE To assess the utility of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in diagnosing fungal keratitis and compare its sensitivity and specificity with those of the conventional microbiologic techniques used in the authors' laboratory. METHODS A prospective nonrandomized investigation was undertaken at a tertiary-care ophthalmic facility to evaluate 40 eyes of 40 patients with presumed fungal kerati...

This article discusses corneal cross-linking (CXL) and how it transitioned from a modality for treating corneal ectatic disorders to an inventive means of treating infectious keratitis. Initially, CXL was successfully developed to halt the progression of ectatic diseases such as keratoconus, using the standard Dresden protocol. Later, indications were extended to treat iatrogenic ectasia develo...

OBJECTIVE To understand the prevalence and demographic characteristics of infectious keratitis and infectious corneal blindness. METHODS A multi-center, population-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January 1 to August 31, 2010. A total of 191,242 individuals of all age groups from 10 geographically representative provinces were sampled using stratified, multi-stage, random and sy...

We report a severe case of Staphylococcus lugdunensis (S. lugdunensis) keratitis presenting as suppurative keratitis in a 77-year-old woman. The patient's chief complaint was eye pain and decreased visual acuity in her right eye. Suppurative keratitis with a severe corneal abscess was diagnosed by a slit-lamp ophthalmic examination. The causative organism was identified as S. lugdunensis by bac...

Twenty-three patients with bacterial keratitis had penetrating keratoplasties performed for deep indolent ulceration or descemetoceles, during the acute period. The period in hospital (17.6 days) was significantly lower than for a control group (35.4 days) who were treated medically and had subsequent grafts. The number of grafts remaining clear was similar, 70% and 72% respectively. Eleven pat...

PURPOSE To develop a contact lens capable of releasing antibiotics for a minimum of 8 hours for the treatment of bacterial keratitis. METHODS Fibrin gel was loaded with vancomycin or gentamicin and then shaped into a curved disc. The disc was then used to coat the surface of a commercial contact lens or was sealed between two lenses. Separate contact lenses were soaked in solutions of vancomy...

Background/aims New antibiotic agents and changing susceptibility patterns may have changed the empirical treatment of bacterial keratitis. Our objective in this study was to survey cornea specialists' practice patterns in the initial treatment of bacterial ulcers. Methods This study consisted of a short online survey emailed to members of the Cornea Society listserv for an international samp...

Experience in setting up an inexpensive microbiology laboratory in the Bangladesh National Society for the Blind Eye Hospital and Training Complex at Chittagong is presented, together with the results of a pilot study to identify organisms responsible in 33 consecutive cases of suppurative keratitis in the Chittagong area of Bangladesh. Of the 33 cases 21 were positively identified by means of ...