Epidemiology and Clinical Management of Fusarium keratitis in the Netherlands, 2005–2016

Introduction: Recognizing fungal keratitis based on the clinical presentation is challenging. Topical therapy may be initiated with antibacterial agents and corticosteroids, thus delaying the fungal diagnosis. As a consequence, the fungal infection may progress ultimately leading to more severe infection and blindness. We noticed an increase of fungal keratitis cases in the Netherlands, especially caused by Fusarium species, which prompted us to conduct a retrospective cohort study, aiming to describe the epidemiology, clinical management, and outcome.Materials and Methods: As fungi are common... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Claudy Oliveira dos Santos
Eva Kolwijck
Jeroen van Rooij
Remco Stoutenbeek
Nienke Visser
Yanny Y. Cheng
Nathalie T. Y. Santana
Paul E. Verweij
Cathrien A. Eggink
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2020
Reihe/Periodikum: Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, Vol 10 (2020)
Verlag/Hrsg.: Frontiers Media S.A.
Schlagwörter: fungal keratitis / Fusarium / susceptibility / identification / contact lenses / visual outcome / Microbiology / QR1-502
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-27583949
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2020.00133

Introduction: Recognizing fungal keratitis based on the clinical presentation is challenging. Topical therapy may be initiated with antibacterial agents and corticosteroids, thus delaying the fungal diagnosis. As a consequence, the fungal infection may progress ultimately leading to more severe infection and blindness. We noticed an increase of fungal keratitis cases in the Netherlands, especially caused by Fusarium species, which prompted us to conduct a retrospective cohort study, aiming to describe the epidemiology, clinical management, and outcome.Materials and Methods: As fungi are commonly sent to the Dutch mycology reference laboratory for identification and in vitro susceptibility testing, the fungal culture collection was searched for Fusarium isolates from corneal scrapings, corneal swabs, and from contact lens (CL) fluid, between 2005 and 2016. All Fusarium isolates had been identified up to species level through sequencing of the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region of the rDNA and TEF1 gene. Antifungal susceptibility testing was performed according to the EUCAST microbroth dilution reference method. Antifungal agents tested included amphotericin B, voriconazole, and natamycin. In addition, susceptibility to the antisepticum chlorhexidine was tested. Ophthalmologists were approached to provide demographic and clinical data of patients identified through a positive culture.Results: Between 2005 and 2016, 89 cases of Fusarium keratitis from 16 different hospitals were identified. The number of cases of Fusarium keratitis showed a significant increase over time (R2 = 0.9199), with one case in the first 5 years (2005–2009) and multiple cases from 2010 and onwards. The male to female ratio was 1:3 (p = 0.014). Voriconazole was the most frequently used antifungal agent, but treatment strategies differed greatly between cases including five patients that were treated with chlorhexidine 0.02% monotherapy. Keratitis management was not successful in 27 (30%) patients, with 20 (22%) patients requiring corneal transplantation ...