Friday, 23 September 2016

Prevention of Infectious Keratitis after Corneal Refractive Surgery

The real prevalence of infectious keratitis after refractive surgery is difficult to determine, due to its rarity. In 2010 we reported a prevalence of 72 cases in 204,586 LASIKprocedures, a 0.035%. Other series had shown prevalence’s ranging from 0.034 to 0.180%, but ours was, by far, the largest series published to date. 

Infectious Keratitis
As happens in LASIK, the prevalence of infections after SA is rare and it is difficult to determine if the series does not comprise a large number of operated eyes. In 2011 we published our prevalence in SA. We found 39 cases in 18,651 procedures, a 0.200%. Therefore, in our institution, corneal infections were five times more prevalent after SA than after LASIK.

There is much consensus about the standard treatment of corneal infections after corneal refractive surgery. According to the ASCRS White Paper aggressive management with early flap lifting, scraping, culture, and irrigation with antibiotics should be followed. 

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