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. 2020 Sep 30:9:49.
doi: 10.4103/abr.abr_118_20. eCollection 2020.

Bacterial Etiology and Antibiotic Susceptibility of Conjunctivitis Patients' Isolates in Kashan, Iran

Mahdi Shaeri  1 , Ali Nazari-Alam  2   3 , Hadis Fathizadeh  2 , Rezvan Moniri  2 , Hosein Akbari  4 , Mansooreh Mansoori  2 , Ali Aghajani  5
Affiliations

Bacterial Etiology and Antibiotic Susceptibility of Conjunctivitis Patients' Isolates in Kashan, Iran

Mahdi Shaeri et al. Adv Biomed Res. .

Abstract

Background: Conjunctivitis is a very common ocular disease, which can be caused by a wide variety of microorganisms. This study was aimed to assess the bacterial etiology and antibiotic susceptibility of conjunctivitis patients' isolates from Central Iran.

Materials and methods: This study was performed in 180 patients referred to the Department of Ophthalmology in Kashan University with symptoms of conjunctivitis from July 2017 to December 2017. To detect of different bacteria, Gram staining, morphological characterization, pigment production, biochemical characteristics, coagulase test, optochin and PYR tests, oxidase test, and culture on specific media were used. Antibiotic susceptibility of the bacteria isolated was done using the Kirby-Bauer method. Methicillin resistance in staphylococci isolated from the patients was identified using polymerase chain reaction technique.

Results: Of the 195 bacteria isolated, about 81.5% were Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus and the remaining 19.5% included other species. In the present study, Pseudomonas aeruginosa was most resistant to ampicillin. In the case of S. epidermidis and S. aureus, the highest resistance was observed against erythromycin and the least resistance was against rifampicin and linezolid.

Conclusion: In this study, S. aureus and S. epidermidis are the most common causes of conjunctivitis in all age groups, however, this condition decreases with age and is also influenced by other factors such as season and weather conditions. The results of this study can be helpful in planning more prudent treatment strategies for patients with conjunctivitis in Kashan.

Keywords: Bacteria; Staphylococcus aureus; conjunctivitis; drug resistance.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Frequency of bacterial infections in patients based on symptoms (ED: Eye discharge, CC: Chronic conjunctivitis, RPE: Red or pink eye, S/EL: Sticky or eyelashes)
Figure 2
Figure 2
The antibiotic sensitivity of organisms isolated from conjunctivitis patients (a: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, b: Staphylococcus epidermidis, c: Staphylococcus aureus)
Figure 3
Figure 3
MecA gene product
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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