Methods: This was an observational cross-sectional study using a convenience sampling method conducted in the OOC of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Center, Malaysia. The samples of POD bottles were divided into groups obtained after 14 days (T14) and after 30 days (T30) of use. The contamination rate at the dropper tip and in the residual contents was determined and the contaminating organisms were identified.
Results: A total of 140 of 149 extended-use POD bottles were included. The prevalence of contamination was 30%. There was a statistically significant difference in the rate of contamination between samples T14 and T30 (19% and 11%, respectively; p=0.046). Proparacaine and tropicamide showed higher contamination rates in the T14 samples (p=0.027 and p=0.497, respectively) than in the T30 samples. The site of contamination was higher at the dropper tip than in the residual contents (p>0.05). Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species were the most frequently identified contaminants (89%).
Conclusion: The dropper tip was more contaminated than the residual contents, and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species, which are common commensal flora of the ocular conjunctiva and skin, were the most frequently identified organisms.
METHODS: A retrospective review of all patients presenting with ocular inflammation to the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia between 2005 and 2009 was undertaken. Visual acuity, clinical manifestations at presentation, toxoplasmosis antibody testing, and treatment records were analyzed.
RESULTS: A total of 130 patients with ocular inflammation were reviewed retrospectively. The patients had a mean age of 38.41 (standard deviation 19.24, range 6-83) years. Seventy-one patients (54.6%) were found to be seropositive, of whom five (3.8%) were both IgG and IgM positive (suggestive of recently acquired ocular toxoplasmosis) while one (0.8%) showed IgG avidity ≤40% (suggestive of recently acquired ocular toxoplasmosis) and 65 patients (50.0%) showed IgG avidity >40% (suggestive of reactivation of toxoplasmosis infection). Chorioretinal scarring as an ocular manifestation was significantly more common in patients with seropositive toxoplasmosis (P = 0.036). Eighteen patients (13.8%) were diagnosed as having recent and/or active ocular toxoplasmosis based on clinical manifestations and serological testing.
CONCLUSION: Ocular toxoplasmosis is a clinical diagnosis, but specific toxoplasmosis antibody testing helps to support the diagnosis and to differentiate between reactivation of infection and recently acquired ocular toxoplasmosis.