New fast test to diagnose bacterial endophthalmitis

Article

A newly-developed fast real-t PCR (f-real-t PCR) test is an effective and much more rapid way to diagnose bacterial endophthalmitis (BE), concluded a study published online ahead of print by the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

A newly-developed fast real-t PCR (f-real-t PCR) test is an effective and much more rapid way to diagnose bacterial endophthalmitis (BE), concluded a study published online ahead of print by the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Pablo Goldschmidt, of the Laboratoire du Centre National d’Ophtalmologie des Quinze-Vingts, France, and colleagues examined specimens of vitreous fluid (VF) and aqueous humour (AH) cells from endophthalmitis, infected with bacteria or non-infective disorders and control to determine if the f-real-t PCR testing method they had developed could overcome the barriers most commonly associated with BE testing, including insufficient VF or AH, PCR cross-contamination and culture insensitivity, to identify the bacteria and Genera of the DNA that had been extracted from the specimen cells. The team compared the diagnoses with those from direct microscopic examination and culture.

The f-real-t PCR showed no cross-reactivity with fungi even though it detected ≥0.01 CFU Bac/µl and had a 100% correlation with culture positive results. Of the BE samples, 60% tested culture positive; with f-real-t PCR, this was 90%. Within 90 minutes, the f-real-t PCR detected and quantified the presence of Bac, Staphylococci, Streptococci, Haemophilus, Pseudomonas, Enterobacteria, Acinetobacter, Propionbacteriacae and Corynebacteria. The non-infective cells tested negative.

The team therefore concluded that their f-real-t PCR test reduced substantially the hours or even days required for cultures, and provided a more accurate result. The test’s developers now plan to run a larger series of samples to assess the utility of the test.

Newsletter

Join ophthalmologists across Europe—sign up for exclusive updates and innovations in surgical techniques and clinical care.

Recent Videos
Rayaz Malik, MBChB, PhD, a professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine - Qatar, spoke with Ophthalmology Times Europe about his presentation. It's titled "An eye on neurodegenerative diseases: Challenging the dogma" at the International SPECTRALIS Sympsoium. In conversation with Hattie Hayes, Ophthalmology Times Europe
Anat Loewenstein, MD, describes her presentation on remote imaging for age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy at the International SPECTRALIS Symposium, in conversation with Hattie Hayes of Ophthalmology Times Europe
Tyson Brunstetter, OD, PhD, a US Navy Aerospace Optometrist at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, shares key takeaways from his keynote at the International SPECTRALIS Symposium (ISS)
Rayaz Malik, MBChB, PhD, shares his presentation, titled An eye on neurodegenerative diseases: Challenging the dogma, at this year's International SPECTRALIS Symposium
At the Retina World Congress, Siegfried Priglinger, MD, speaks about ensuring the best outcomes for preschool-aged patients
At the 2025 ASCRS meeting, Robert Ang, MD said small aperture IOLs can benefit all patients, especially those with complex corneas or who have undergone previous corneal refractive surgery
Viha Vig, MBChB graduate student at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, discusses her poster presentation on the relationship between mitochondiral disease, Alzheimer disease, and other types of dementia.
Alfredo Sadun, MD, PhD, chief of Ophthalmology at the Doheny Eye Institute, University of California Los Angeles, shared exciting new research with the Eye Care Network during the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting on the subject of Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON).
At this year's Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, Nitish Mehta, MD, shared highlights from his research documenting real-world results of aflibercept 8 mg for patients with diabetic macular oedema.
Related Content
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.