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. 2005 Jan-Feb;68(1):21-7.
doi: 10.1590/s0004-27492005000100005. Epub 2005 Mar 30.

[Laboratory study of the mycotic infectious eye diseases and factors associated with keratitis]

[Article in Portuguese]
Ana Luisa Höfling-Lima  1 , Adriana Forseto, João Paulo Duprat, Alfredo Andrade, Luciene Barbosa de Souza, Patrício Godoy, Denise de Freitas
Affiliations

[Laboratory study of the mycotic infectious eye diseases and factors associated with keratitis]

[Article in Portuguese]
Ana Luisa Höfling-Lima et al. Arq Bras Oftalmol. 2005 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

Purpose: To analyze the frequency and the etiology of mycotic infectious eye diseases diagnosed by culture at the Ocular Diseases Laboratory of the Federal University of São Paulo (LOFT-UNIFESP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil, and the factors associated with fungal keratitis.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the 14,391 laboratory requests regarding infectious eye diseases between 1975 and May 2003. For the fungal culture proven examinations we observed the morphologic type of the isolated fungus, the gender and age of the patient, the site of ocular involvement, the year of identification, and the factors associated with keratitis cases, according to the identified etiologic agent. Results were considered significant if p<0.05.

Results: We verified 296 (2.05%) ocular mycosis cases with 265 keratitis (89.5%), 27 intraocular infections (9.1%), and 4 infections at other sites (1.3%). Filamentous fungi were isolated in 233 cases (78.7%) 74.7% being male (n=174) and 25.3% female (n=59). Yeasts were isolated in 63 cases (21.3%) 49.2% being male (n=31) and 50.8% female (n=32). Ages varied between 2 and 99 years in the filamentous fungi group and between 14 and 88 years in the yeast group. The most frequently found etiologic agents of the filamentous fungi isolations were Fusarium (n=137; 58.8%), Aspergillus (n=28; 12.0%), and Penicillium (n=12; 5.2%); and in yeasts, Candida (n=59; 93.7%). Regarding keratitis, 95.1% had at least one associated factor. Ocular trauma was significantly associated with filamentous fungi keratitis (p=0.0002); and previous surgeries (p=0.0002), ocular (p=0.0002) and systemic diseases (p=0.0002) with yeast keratitis. The use of topic antibiotics showed association with filamentous fungi keratitis, at a lower statistical significance (p=0.0224).

Conclusions: Laboratory analysis showed predominance of filamentous fungi over the yeasts, and keratitis was the main observed ocular infection. Fungal keratitis involved at least one associated factor in most cases.

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