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Neonatal endophthalmitis on the decline in US
Am J Ophthalmol. 2011;151(1):59-65.e1.
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A study found that the incidence of neonatal endophthalmitis in the United States decreased between 1998 and 2006.
The retrospective cohort study utilized the National Inpatient Sample database, a sample of 20% of all hospital discharges, to determine the frequency of neonatal endophthalmitis and its associated risk factors between 1998 and 2006.
Between 1998 and 2006, there were 35.49 million live births in the U.S., of which 1,959 cases of endophthalmitis were reported — representing an incidence of 5.52 cases per 100,000 births annually, according to the study.
The investigators found an endophthalmitis incidence of 8.71 cases per 100,000 live births for 1998, while the incidence of endophthalmitis declined by 6% annually to 4.42 cases per 100,000 births for 2006 (P = .01130).
Logistic regression analyses identified candidemia, systemic bacteremia, retinopathy of prematurity and a birth weight of less than 1,500 g as risk factors for the development of endophthalmitis in newborns (P < .0001 for all).
After considering birth weight and other comorbidities, the study authors determined a correlation between neonatal endophthalmitis and a decreased likelihood for mortality. However, they noted that patients with the condition may have been more vigilantly cared for and that further studies would be necessary to validate this finding.