A Review on Pathogens and Necessary Diagnostic Work for Bleb-Related Infections (BRIs)
Stylianos A. Kandarakis,
Leonidas Doumazos,
Dimitra Mitsopoulou,
Mario A. Economou,
Ioanna Mylona,
Chrysostomos Dimitriou,
Petros Petrou,
Ilias Georgalas
Affiliations
Stylianos A. Kandarakis
First Department of Ophthalmology, G. Gennimatas Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 27 Athens, Greece
Leonidas Doumazos
First Department of Ophthalmology, G. Gennimatas Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 27 Athens, Greece
Dimitra Mitsopoulou
First Department of Ophthalmology, G. Gennimatas Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 27 Athens, Greece
Mario A. Economou
Sophiehemet Hospital, 114 86 Stockholm, Sweden
Ioanna Mylona
Department of Ophthalmology, General Hospital of Katerini, 601 00 Katerini, Greece
Chrysostomos Dimitriou
Ophthalmology Department, Colchester Eye Centre of Excellence, East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, Turner Road, Mile End, Colchester CO4 5JR, UK
Petros Petrou
First Department of Ophthalmology, G. Gennimatas Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 27 Athens, Greece
Ilias Georgalas
First Department of Ophthalmology, G. Gennimatas Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 27 Athens, Greece
At the present time, as newer techniques and minimally invasive procedures gain popularity among anterior segment surgeons for regulating intraocular pressure, trabeculectomy still has a leading role in glaucoma surgery. Trabeculectomy retains a highly successful and safe profile; however, one of the major complications includes bleb-related infections (BRIs). To date, the most common pathogens remain Gram-positive cocci, but the list of pathogens that have been identified in the literature includes more than 100 microorganisms. Because antibiotic use is more widespread than ever before and our ability to identify pathogens has improved, the pathogen spectrum will broaden in the future and more pathogens causing BRIs will be described as atypical presentations. The scope of this review was to identify all pathogens that have been described to cause bleb-related infections to date, as well as focus on the risk factors, clinical presentation, and various available diagnostic tools used for an appropriate diagnostic workup.
