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. 2017 Sep 26;17(1):174.
doi: 10.1186/s12886-017-0570-8.

A chronological study of the bacterial pathogen changes in acute neonatal bacterial conjunctivitis in southern China

Song Tang  1 , Ming Li  2   3   4 , Hongbo Chen  2 , Guo Ping  2 , Chun Zhang  2 , Shusheng Wang  5   6
Affiliations

A chronological study of the bacterial pathogen changes in acute neonatal bacterial conjunctivitis in southern China

Song Tang et al. BMC Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Background: The aim of the project is to retrospectively study the changes in bacterial pathogens in acute neonatal bacterial conjunctivitis from 2002 to 2016 in Southern China. The results may provide the guidance for drug choice for acute neonatal bacterial conjunctivitis.

Methods: Secretion specimens for bacterial culture were taken from 485 cases with clinically diagnosed acute bacterial neonatal conjunctivitis. Bacterial pathogens were detected by Gram staining and subsequent bacterial culture.

Results: From the analysis of the bacterial pathogens in 485 cases of acute neonatal conjunctivitis patients from 2002 to 2016 in Southern China, there is an overall trend of decreasing detection of Gram-positive bacteria and increasing detection of Gram-negative bacteria from the conjunctival sac secretions. Gram-positive bacteria in the bacteria-positive samples dropped year by year from 82.6% in 2002 to 72.4% in 2016. Accordingly, the ratio of Gram-negative bacteria increased from 17.4% in 2002 to 27.6% in 2016. Of note, despite the overall trend, there was a significant increase in detection of Gram-positive bacteria and decrease in detection of Gram-negative bacteria from 2011 to 2012. Among the Gram-positive bacteria, there is a trend of increasing percentage of the opportunistic pathogens (an ~60% increase in Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus saprophytic) and decreasing percentage of Staphylococcus aureus (~30% decrease) and hemolytic streptococcus (~20% decrease) in the last 15 years. The main Gram-negative bacterium is Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Overall, there is a change in the pattern of bacterial species in acute neonatal bacterial conjunctivitis in Southern China in the last 15 years.

Conclusion: Our study provides a trend analysis of the bacterial pathogens in the conjunctival sac secretions of the acute neonatal bacterial conjunctivitis patients in Southern China in recent years. This data could provide useful information regarding the treatment options for neonatal bacterial conjunctivitis.

Keywords: Bacterial conjunctivitis; Neonates; Pathogens.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study was conducted in compliance with informed consent regulations and the Declaration of Helsinki. The study protocol was approved by internal review board (IRB) of Shenzhen Eye Hospital (IRB#: 200,220,111). Informed consent was obtained from the parents of the patients for the study.

Consent for publication

Informed consent was obtained from the patients for the study. Since the study contains no individual persons’ data, there is no requirement for consent to publish.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The trends of the Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria from patients with neonatal conjunctivitis from 2002 to 2016 in Southern China. a Percentage of Gram-positive and Gram negative bacteria from 2002 to 2016. b The percentage and trend line of different Gram-positive bacteria identified from 2002 to 2016 responsible for neonatal bacterial conjunctivitis. The percentage of Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Staphylococcus aureus α-hemolytic and β-hemolytic streptococcus, and Xerophthalmiabacilli bacteria was shown. c The percentage and trend line of different Gram-negative bacteria identified from 2002 to 2016 responsible for neonatal bacterial conjunctivitis. The percentage of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Haemophilus influenza and E. coli bacteria was shown
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