Complications, wound leak associated with endophthalmitis in sutureless surgery

After sutureless cataract surgery, surgical complications and wound leaks on the first postop day were strongly associated with endophthalmitis, according to a review of a large series of patients.

Trevin Wallin, MD, and colleagues at the John A. Moran Eye Center took a retrospective 10% sample of patients who underwent cataract surgery over a 7-year period and compared that with all cases of bacterial endophthalmitis that occurred during that period. A total of 1,525 patients were in the control cohort, and 27 cases of endophthalmitis were identified.

Multivariate regression analysis found several risk factors to be statistically associated with endophthalmitis. Those most strongly associated were wound leakage on the first postoperative day, capsular or zonular surgical complications, and beginning topical antibiotics on the day after surgery instead of the day of surgery.

The study is published in the April issue of Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.