Posters

Corneal culture collection: what is best?

Poster Details

First Author: N.Santana THE NETHERLANDS

Co Author(s):    Y. Henry                    

Abstract Details

Purpose:

To compare traditional corneal scrapings with the easy-to-use ESwab specimen collection and transportation system in infectious keratitis.

Setting:

VU university medical center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Methods:

30 cases of infectious keratitis were cultured using two methods: corneal scrapings cultured directly on brain heart infusion (BHI) broth and corneal specimen collection and transportation with the ESwab from Copan Diagnostics Inc.

Results:

25 cases (83%) showed identical results using both culture methods. Contamination of the specimens occurred in 8 ESwabs (27%) and in 9 BHI broths (30%). The ESwab showed a 92.9% sensitivity and a specificity of 75% compared to the traditional corneal scrapings on BHI broth. In 1 case, the BHI broth showed which pathogen caused the infectious keratitis where the ESwab did not. However, in 3 other cases, it was the other way around, with the ESwab revealing the cause of infection while the BHI broth remaining clean.

Conclusions:

There is no such thing as an ideal corneal culture method, however, the ESwab showed promising results, comparable to a more traditional method. The ESwab is easier and quicker in use, but because this is a transport medium instead of a culture medium, one should take into account the delay the ESwab may bring.

Financial Disclosure:

NONE