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Culture confirmation plays role in effective treatment of bacterial keratitis
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When bacterial infection is confirmed through culturing, the rate of response of ulcerative keratitis to antibacterial therapy is affected, a study found. Bacterial infections that were culture positive had a slower improvement rate and slower cure rate, the study authors found.
Kirk Wilhelmus, MD, PhD, and Barry Schlech, PhD, attempted to determine the influence of a positive bacterial culture on the rates of antibacterial improvement and cure. They enrolled 608 patients with ulcerative keratitis who were being treated with topical ciprofloxacin in a cohort study. They found that bacterial keratitis that was culture positive and longer than 4 mm had a 37% slower improvement rate and a 56% slower cure rate during ciprofloxacin therapy.
The authors also evaluated by metaregression the relationship between culture confirmation and the relative cure rates of 735 patients enrolled in four clinical trials comparing fluoroquinolone monotherapy to combined cephalosporin and aminoglycoside therapy. Among those randomized trials, the culture result did not modify the relative effect of treatment.
The study is published in the January issue of Cornea.