A retrospective study of the incidence of culture-positive endophthalmitis after cataract surgery and the use of preoperative antibiotics.

Background And Objective: To determine the incidence of culture-positive endophthalmitis after cataract surgery in an ambulatory surgery center and to analyze the effect of a specific preoperative antibiotic regimen in reducing the incidence of endophthalmitis.

Patients And Methods: The medical records of 30,870 consecutive eyes undergoing cataract extraction at a single ambulatory surgery center were reviewed retrospectively. Complications of the cataract surgeries, including endophthalmitis, were collected.

Results: Cataract surgery was performed without the use of preoperative topical antibiotics on 19,529 eyes from 1990 to 1998 (Group 1) and using topical preoperative ciprofloxacin-soaked pledgets on 11,341 eyes from 1999 to 2003 (Group 2). Five eyes had culture-positive endophthalmitis in each group. The incidence of culture-positive endophthalmitis was 0.03% (1 in 3000) in Group 1 and 0.04% (1 in 2268) in Group 2 (P = 1.0).

Conclusions: The incidence of postoperative endophthalmitis in this study was low. A preoperative pledget soaked with a second-generation fluoroquinolone did not appear to lower the incidence of culture-positive endophthalmitis after cataract surgery in this series.