Widespread Adoption of Microincision Vitrectomy Surgery Improves Visual Outcomes in Endogenous Endophthalmitis with Poor Initial Vision: A 21-Year Experience in Taiwan.

PURPOSE: To review the presentation and visual prognostic factors of patients with endogenous endophthalmitis before and after the introduction of microincision vitrectomy surgery (MIVS), at a tertiary referral hospital in Taiwan, over a 21-year period.

METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed medical records of patients diagnosed with endogenous endophthalmitis before and after the introduction of MIVS between January 2002 and December 2022.

RESULTS: Data were collected from 147 patients. Diabetes mellitus was the most common comorbidity (59.9%). Liver abscess (32.7%) was the leading source of infection, followed by urinary tract infection (15.0%), and infective endocarditis (5.4%). Klebsiella pneumoniae (50.4%) was the most common pathogen, followed by Staphylococcus aureus (13.5%), and Candida albicans (8.3%). Poor initial visual acuity worse than counting fingers (CF) ( p  < 0.001) and diabetes mellitus ( p  = 0.008) were significantly associated with poor visual outcomes. In the treatment of 98 patients with poor initial visual acuity worse than CF, the proportion of vitrectomy surgeries performed increased from 13/56 (23.2%) to 24/42 (57.1%) ( p  = 0.001) after the introduction of MIVS. Final visual acuity of CF or better increased from 7/56 (12.5%) to 12/42 (28.6%) after the introduction of MIVS ( p  = 0.046). Vitrectomy was a better prognostic factor for final visual outcome in patients with poor initial visual acuity of worse than CF ( p  = 0.011) than other factors.

CONCLUSION: In endogenous endophthalmitis patients presenting with poor initial visual acuity, vitrectomy was a better visual prognostic factor. MIVS has allowed more patients to undergo vitrectomy and improved visual outcomes.