A review on contact lens related microbial keratitis in Asian countries

Authors

T Thevi, Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital Melaka, Melaka, MalaysiaFollow
S C Reddy, Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine and Defence Health, National defence University of Malaysia Kuala lumpur MalaysiaFollow

Abstract

Bacterial or fungal keratitis/corneal ulcer is the most dangerous complication which occurs when patients do not follow good hygiene practices in handling the contact lenses. When the ulcer heals, it results in corneal opacity and loss of vision. A review of the literature on keratitis/corneal ulcer in patients wearing contact lenses from different countries in Asia was performed in Pubmed, Google scholar and Science direct search engines. In patients of infectious keratitis/corneal ulcer, contact lens wear was reported as a risk factor in 0.4% to 69.4% in Asian countries. Soft lenses and those made of polymethylmethacrylate accounted for most ulcers. Poor hygiene, overnight wear and failure to air-dry casings were found to cause the ulcers. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Fusarium and Acanthamoeba were the most common organisms isolated in contact lens related corneal ulcers. Maintenance of a contact-lens related corneal ulcers registry (like the one present in Malaysia) in every country will play a great role in reducing the prevalence of corneal blindness in patients using contact lenses

Recommended Citation

Thevi, T and Reddy, S C (2018) "A review on contact lens related microbial keratitis in Asian countries," Manipal Journal of Medical Sciences: Vol. 3: Iss. 2, Article 7.
Available at: https://impressions.manipal.edu/mjms/vol3/iss2/7