Corneal ulcers at San Vicente of Arauca Hospital from 2011 to 2012, a descriptive study

Abstract

Introduction: In the ophthalmological consultation is common to find corneal ulcers related to the use of contact lenses, trauma or diseases of the eye. The consequence is a visual impairment if an adequate treatment is not performed. Objective: To identify the infectious agents present in the corneal ulcers of patients who were treated at San Vicente of Arauca Hospital (Colombia) between 2011 and 2012. Methodology: This is a retrospective study of medical records of patients who attended to the ophthalmology clinic at San Vicente of Arauca Hospital (Colombia) between 2011 and 2012. Patients with a diagnosis of corneal ulcer who were submitted to scraping samples under biomicroscopy vision for Gram, KOH and culture processing were included. Patients who received previous treatment were excluded. Results: 29 patients were included in the study: 62.1% of them were men, the average age was 41.4 years, 48.3% of them had ocular trauma. Bacterial isolation was 34.4%, mycotic 20.6%; and mixed 31%. In 55.2% of them, S. epidermidis predominated. Conclusions: Ocular trauma is the main predisposing factor for the development of corneal ulcers. S. epidermidis is most commonly found in bacterial corneal ulcers. Filamentous fungi were found more frequently in fungal infections.