Causative Pathogens of Endophthalmitis after Intravitreal Anti-VEGF Injection: An International Multicenter Study

• Main Authors: Catharina Busch, Matias Iglicki, Mali Okada, Pierre Henry Gabrielle, Shai Cohen, Miriana Mariussi, Atchara Amphornphruet, Zafer Cebeci, Voraporn Chaikitmongkol, Aude Couturier, Samantha Fraser-Bell, Adrian T. Fung, Danilo Iannetta, Liga Radecka, Inês Laíns, Tiago M. Rodrigues, Marco Lupidi, Małgorzata Ozimek, Anna Sala-Puigdollers, Matus Rehak, Anat Loewenstein, Dinah Zur
• Format: Journal
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: Medicine; Neuroscience
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85063466808&origin=inward; http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/jspui/handle/6653943832/65769
• Institution: Chiang Mai University

© 2019 S. Karger AG, Basel. Purpose: The main objective of this study was to investigate the microbiological spectrum of endophthalmitis after anti-VEGF injections and to compare streptococcal with non-streptococcus-associated cases with regard to baseline characteristics and injection procedure. Methods: Retrospective, international multicenter study of patients with culture-positive endophthalmitis after intravitreal anti-VEGF injection at 17 different retina referral centers. Results: Eighty-three cases with 87 identified pathogens were included. Coagulase-negative staphylococci (59%) and viridans streptococci (15%) were the most frequent pathogens found. The use of postoperative antibiotics and performance of injections in an operating room setting significantly reduced the rate of streptococcus-induced endophthalmitis cases (p = 0.01 for both). Conclusion: We found a statistically significant lower rate of postinjectional local antibiotic therapy and operating room-based procedures among the streptococcus-induced cases compared to cases caused by other organisms.