Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2003 May;87(5):574-6.
doi: 10.1136/bjo.87.5.574.

The Endophthalmitis Population Study of Western Australia (EPSWA): first report

N Morlet  1 , J Li, J Semmens, J Ng; teamEPSWA
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

The Endophthalmitis Population Study of Western Australia (EPSWA): first report

N Morlet et al. Br J Ophthalmol. 2003 May.

Abstract

Background/aim: Over the period of 19 years to 1999, cataract surgery numbers increased 6% per annum in Western Australia (WA), promoted by the convenience, efficacy, and general safety of outpatient phacoemulsification surgery. Although endophthalmitis is an uncommon complication, it is a major cause of post-cataract surgery blindness. The present population study investigates not only the prevalence of endophthalmitis but provides an accurate incidence of endophthalmitis in WA over the same period.

Methods: Using the hospital morbidity data system (HMDS) of the WA Record Linkage Project, and cross validating against three independent databases (anaesthetic and microbiological databases and surgeons' logbooks) the authors examined 698 case notes that were potentially cases of endophthalmitis for the period 1980 to June 1999. As the database linkage was incomplete for 1999, only the 188 confirmed cases to 1998 were included in the present study. Additional case note validation was performed to confirm the correct codes for the cataract surgical procedure.

Results: Despite changes in surgical technique and prophylaxis over the study period of 19 years, the incidence of endophthalmitis remained largely unchanged, averaging one in 500 surgical cases overall. However, the incidence fluctuated over time and varied with the location of surgery ranging from 0.65 per 1000 operations to 16.4 per 1000 operations.

Conclusion: These data highlight previously undescribed temporal and geographic variations in the incidence of endophthalmitis. It is uncertain whether the wide variation in prophylactic practices throughout the ophthalmic community has any bearing on the incidence of endophthalmitis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) The yearly number of cataract procedures and cases of post-cataract endophthalmitis in Western Australia from 1980 to 1988. (B) The same data shown as incidence rate of post-cataract endophthalmitis (per 1000 cataract procedures) in Western Australia over the same period.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The incidence and the prediction interval for postoperative endophthalmitis by hospital of cataract surgery in Western Australia (1980 to 1998).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kresloff MS, Castellarin AA, Zarbin MA. Endophthalmitis. Surv Ophthalmol 1998;43:193–224. - PubMed
    1. Callegan MC, Engelbert M, Parke DW 2nd, et al. Bacterial endophthalmitis: epidemiology, therapeutics, and bacterium-host interactions. Clin Microbiol Rev 2002;15:111–24. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Semmens JB, Lawrence-Brown MMD, Fletcher DR, et al. The Quality of Surgical Care Project: a model to evaluate surgical outcomes in Western Australia using population based record linkage. Aust NZ J Surg 1998;68:397–403. - PubMed
    1. Holman CD, Bass AJ, Rouse IL, et al. Population based linkage of health records in Western Australia: development of a health services research linked database. Aust NZ J Public Health 1999;23:453–9. - PubMed
    1. International Classification of Diseases. Manual of the international statistical classification of diseases, injuries, and causes of death., Geneva: WHO, 1977.

Publication types