Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Trends in Infectious Keratitis in Taiwan: An Update on Predisposing Factors, Microbiological and Antibiotic Susceptibility Patterns

Version 1 : Received: 1 July 2022 / Approved: 4 July 2022 / Online: 4 July 2022 (09:41:43 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Wang, J.-J.; Lai, C.-H.; Chen, C.-Y.; Liu, C.-Y.; Lin, M.-H.; Yang, Y.-H.; Wu, P.-L. Trends in Infectious Keratitis in Taiwan: An Update on Predisposing Factors, Microbiological and Antibiotic Susceptibility Patterns. Diagnostics 2022, 12, 2095. Wang, J.-J.; Lai, C.-H.; Chen, C.-Y.; Liu, C.-Y.; Lin, M.-H.; Yang, Y.-H.; Wu, P.-L. Trends in Infectious Keratitis in Taiwan: An Update on Predisposing Factors, Microbiological and Antibiotic Susceptibility Patterns. Diagnostics 2022, 12, 2095.

Abstract

Infectious keratitis (IK) represents a major cause of corneal blindness. This study aims to investigate the demographics, risk factors, microbiological characteristics and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of IK in Taiwan over the past 15 years. A retrospective population-based study was conducted using the Chang Gung Research Database. Patients with IK were identified by diagnostic codes for corneal ulcer from 2004 to 2019. Of 7807 included subjects, 45.2% of patients had positive corneal cultures. The proportion of contact lens-related IK declined, while that of IK related to systemic diseases grew. The percentage of isolated gram-positive bacteria surpassed that of gram-negative bacteria in the 15-year period. The prevalence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa showed a decreasing trend (p = 0.004), whereas coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CNS) and Propionibacterium species were increasingly detected (p < 0.001). Overall, the trend of antibiotic susceptibility of both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria did not change throughout the study period. The susceptibility to the test antibiotics maintained over 90% in gram-negative isolates during 15 years. Vancomycin preserved 100% susceptibility to all gram-positive isolates. Since most tested antibiotics exhibited stable susceptibility over decades, this study reinforced that fluoroquinolones and fortified vancomycin continue to be good empiric therapies for treating bacterial keratitis in Taiwan.

Keywords

infectious keratitis; corneal infection; antibiotic susceptibility; antimicrobial resistance

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Ophthalmology

Comments (0)

We encourage comments and feedback from a broad range of readers. See criteria for comments and our Diversity statement.

Leave a public comment
Send a private comment to the author(s)
* All users must log in before leaving a comment
Views 0
Downloads 0
Comments 0
Metrics 0


×
Alerts
Notify me about updates to this article or when a peer-reviewed version is published.
We use cookies on our website to ensure you get the best experience.
Read more about our cookies here.