Five-Year Analysis of Microbial Keratitis Incidence, Isolates, and In Vitro Antimicrobial Sensitivity in the South West of England: An Epidemiological Study.
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Authors
Sharma, Poonam
Chipeta, Chimwemwe
O'Kane, Kieran
Whiteman, Alexander
Francis, Bryher
Thornton, Richard
Sian, Indy
Buscombe, Charlotte
Court, Jennifer
Knox-Cartwright, Nathaniel
Issue Date
2025-07-04
Type
Journal Article
Language
en
Keywords
antibiotic , culture , empirical , microbial keratitis , sensitivity
Alternative Title
Abstract
To determine the incidence, causative organisms, and treatment effectiveness for microbial keratitis (MK) in the Southwest of England. Retrospective analysis of 872 corneal scrapes (January 2018-December 2022). Microbiology results were evaluated for organism growth and antimicrobial sensitivity. Data were divided into two groups for trend analysis (A: 2018-2020, B: 2021-2022). Of the 872 scrapes, 357 (39.6%) were culture positive. Bacteria accounted for 90.2% of cases, followed by viruses (2.8%), fungi (2.5%), mixed bacterial growth (2.5%), and Acanthamoeba (2.0%). The estimated incidence of MK was 9.69/100,000/year. Group B had a significantly higher overall MK incidence, with no change in pathogen distribution. was the most frequent isolate (69 cases, 19.3%). In vitro sensitivity to fluoroquinolones was 94.4% for Gram-positive and 98.6% for Gram-negative bacteria. All fungal isolates were sensitive to at least one antifungal. Bacterial pathogens dominate MK in the Southwest of England, with over 90% sensitivity to chloramphenicol, fluoroquinolones, and aminoglycosides, indicating low antimicrobial resistance. Fluoroquinolones remain the recommended first-line therapy for MK. Fungal and protozoal keratitis are rare (<3% of cases), supporting bacteria-focused empirical treatment with close monitoring.
Description
Copyright: © 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Citation
Sharma, P. et al. (2025) 'Five-Year Analysis of Microbial Keratitis Incidence, Isolates, and In Vitro Antimicrobial Sensitivity in the South West of England: An Epidemiological Study', Microorganisms. 13(7) 1578. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13071578
Publisher
MDPI
License
Journal
Microorganisms
Volume
13
Issue
7
PubMed ID
ISSN
2076-2607