Prevention of endophthalmitis

PURPOSE: To report the incidence of postoperative endophthalmitis in a series of patients who had cataract surgery with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation and to apply guidelines toward the prevention of postoperative endophthalmitis. SETTING: The Buzard Eye Institute for Corneal, Refractive and Cataract Surgery, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. METHODS: In this prospective institutional study, 5,131 cataract surgery cases with IOL implantation were performed from 1998 to 2002 by 1 surgeon at a single institute. The surgeon used a blue-line incision at the superior location, povidone- iodine prophylaxis, and postoperative injection of subconjunctival antibiotics. The incidence of endophthalmitis in the study was compared with the general incidence in the United States (range 0.07% to 0.13%) and in published studies (range 0.02% to 0.57%). RESULTS: The 5,131 cases were followed for a mean of 2 years (range 3 months to 4 years). The mean patient age was 69.6 years +/- 10.9 (SD). No case of endophthalmitis occurred. The zero incidence of endophthalmitis was below the general incidence in the United States and in published studies. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the absence of postoperative endophthalmitis may be related to 4 factors: povidone-iodine prophylaxis, meticulous draping of the eyes, operative technique (blue-line incision), and postoperative injection of subconjunctival antibiotics.