| Title: |
Diagnosing microbial keratitis in different settings. |
| Authors: |
Leck, Astrid; Yadav, Reena; Ebong, Abel; Arunga, Simon; Hoffman, Jeremy |
| Publisher Information: |
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, International Centre for Eye Health |
| Publication Year: |
2024 |
| Collection: |
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine: LSHTM Research Online |
| Description: |
Microbial keratitis is an ocular emergency. Identifying the likely cause can help to save the eye and preserve vision. Microbial keratitis refers to severe corneal infection caused by a variety of microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protozoa, such as Acanthamoeba; treatment depends on the type of microorganism involved. Patients with microbial keratitis all present with a red, painful and light-sensitive eye. There may have been a history of trauma or contact lens wear. Clinical signs of microbial keratitis include a red eye with a white patch or infiltrate over the cornea. If fluorescein staining is available, the ulcer or epithelial defect will fluoresce green under a blue light. These signs are similar, regardless of the type of microorganism responsible, which makes diagnosis, and therefore management, a challenge. In an ideal setting, formal diagnosis is made following corneal scrapes for microscopy and culture. However, this is not always available, particularly in rural or low-resource settings. It is therefore important to try to determine the type of infection with the resources that you have available, in order to give the patient the best possible outcome. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| File Description: |
text |
| Language: |
English |
| ISSN: |
0953-6833 |
| Relation: |
https://researchonline.lshtm.ac.uk/id/eprint/4681223/1/Leck-etal-2024-Diagnosing-microbial-keratitis.pdf; Leck, Astrid ; Yadav, Reena; Ebong, Abel; Arunga, Simon; and Hoffman, Jeremy ORCID logo (2024) Diagnosing microbial keratitis in different settings. Community eye health / International Centre for Eye Health, 37 (124). pp. 3-6. ISSN 0953-6833 https://cehjournal.org/articles/818/files/675b2182. |
| Availability: |
https://researchonline.lshtm.ac.uk/id/eprint/4681223/; https://cehjournal.org/articles/818/files/675b218272471.pdf |
| Rights: |
cc_by_nc_sa_4 |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.DB9AA456 |
| Database: |
BASE |