In Vitro Antibiotic Susceptibility Studies Of Bacteria Associated With Keratitis

Abstract

In vitro tests of the susceptibility of isolates of bacterial keratitis pathogens to antibiotics were carried out in this study. Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequently isolated organisms followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pneumoniae. Antibiotic sensitivity testing showed a high susceptibility to ciprofloxacin while ampicillin had no effect against any of the isolated organisms suggesting that ciprofloxacin should be considered as the drug of choice in the treatment of keratitis. While single-agent therapy with fluoroquinolones for vision-threatening bacterial keratitis is not advisable, combination therapy with fluoroquinolones and erythromycin offers a reasonable alternative for the treatment of bacterial keratitis. Also, the isolation of Escherichia coli shows that further study is required to determine its involvement in keratitis.


Ife Journal of Science Vol. 7(1) 2005: 47-51