Clinical and microbiologic review of culture-proven endophthalmitis caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria in patients seen at a tertiary eye care center in southern India.

Purpose: To determine the type of bacteria and the visual outcome of culture-proven multidrug-resistant bacterial endophthalmitis in patients at a tertiary eye care center in southern India.

Methods: This is a retrospective case series in which clinical and microbiologic records of culture-proven bacterial endophthalmitis between January 2000 and December 2007 were reviewed. Multidrug resistance was defined as resistance to two or more different groups of typically susceptible classes of antibiotics.

Results: Of 807 patients, vitreous from 42 patients (5.2%) yielded multidrug-resistant bacteria in culture. Thirty-two (71%) of these patients had a poor visual outcome (31.6% in non-multidrug-resistant group). Multidrug resistance was more common in gram-negative bacteria (33; 78.6%) compared with gram-positive bacteria (9; 21.4%). Pseudomonas spp. (24 isolates) were the most common isolated bacteria. Fifteen (45%) of the 33 gram-negative isolates were resistant to ceftazidime, 18 (54.5%) were resistant to amikacin, and 11 (33.3%) were resistant to both amikacin and ceftazidime. Five (55.56%) of the 9 gram-positive isolates were resistant to vancomycin.

Conclusion: Gram-negative bacteria, chiefly Pseudomonas, are the most common multidrug-resistant organisms, and the outcome is usually poor. Emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria is a matter of concern. A new alternative group of drugs may be considered for the management of these isolated cases.