Abstract
This study aimed to compare the differences of microbial spectrum and antibiotic resistance patterns between external and intraocular bacterial infections in an eye hospital in South China. A total of 737 bacteria isolates from suspected ocular infections were included in this retrospective study covering the period 2010-2013. The organisms cultured from the ocular surface (cornea, conjunctiva) accounted for the majority of the isolates (82.77%, n = 610), followed by the intraocular (aqueous humor, vitreous fluid), which accounted for 17.23% (n = 127). The top three species accounting for the external ocular infections were S. epidermidis (35.25%), P. aeruginosa (8.03%), and S. simulans (4.43%). The top three species for the intraocular infections were S. epidermidis (14.96%), S. hominis (8.66%), and B. subtilis (7.87%). The bacteria from the external ocular surface were more sensitive to neomycin, while those from the intraocular specimens were more sensitive to levofloxacin (P < 0.01). Multidrug resistance was found in 89 bacteria (12.08%), including isolates from both external (13.28%) and intraocular samples (6.30%). The results of this study indicate that the bacteria spectrum of external and intraocular infections is variable in the setting. A high percentage of bacterial organisms were found to be primarily susceptible to neomycin for external infection and levofloxacin for intraocular infection.