VA at baseline portends visual prognosis in endophthalmitis cases

Issue: January 2017

Researchers evaluating the predictors of visual outcomes in cases of infectious endophthalmitis found presenting visual acuity better than hand motion to be the most common indicator of a good visual prognosis.

Of the 207 patients included in the prospective, interventional case series at a tertiary eye care center in northern India, 83 had post-cataract surgery endophthalmitis, 84 had post-traumatic endophthalmitis, and 16 had endogenous endophthalmitis. Causes of endophthalmitis in the remaining 24 patients were related to intravitreal injections, blebs, keratoplasty, vitrectomy, keratitis and secondary IOL implantation.

Mean baseline best corrected visual acuity was hand motion or worse. One hundred and fifty of the cases were treated first with intravitreal antibiotics and then pars plana vitrectomy, 45 cases were treated with intravitreal antibiotics only, and 12 cases were treated with vitrectomy only.

At 6 months, mean BCVA improved from worse than hand motion at baseline to 20/1,200, with 56% of patients achieving final BCVA of better than 20/400.

“Presenting visual acuity better than hand motion is the single most common indicator of good visual prognoses, whereas presence of retinal detachment and retained intraocular foreign body are associated with poor outcomes,” the researchers wrote. – by Robert Linnehan

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.

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Source:

Sharma YR, et al. Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2016;doi:10.3928/23258160-20161031-02.