Therapeutic effects of vitrectomy combined with endotamponade for severe endophthalmitis

Objective To observe the effects of vitrectomy combined with endotamponade on severe endophthalmitis. Methods The clinical data of 44 patients (44 eyes) of posttraumatic and 22 patients (22 eyes) of postoperative severe endophthalmitis were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were treated by vitrectomy and endotamponade. Intraocular foreign body removal (19 eyes), lens extraction (25 eyes),intraocular lens removal (six eyes) and scleral buckling (16 eyes) were performed. Tamponade with silicone oil (52 eyes) or C3F8 gas (14 eyes) was also performed. Postoperative follow-up ranged from two to 25 months, with the mean of 7.9 months. The visual acuity(VA)and intraocular pressure before and after surgery were comparatively analyzed. Results Inflammation of all the patients were controlled,the effective rate was 59.10%. There was no recurrence and retinal detachment. Among the 66 eyes, postoperative VA of 58 eyes (87. 90 % ) increased, five eyes ( 7.60 % ) didn't change and three eyes (4.55% ) decreased, the difference was statistically significant(x2= 45.27, P＜0. 05). The postoperative intraocular pressure was higher than that before surgery, the difference was statistically significant (t =- 3.23, P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Vitrectomy combined with endotamponade is an effective way to cure severe endophthalmitis.It can improve the visual acuity and intraocular pressure. Key words: Endophthalmitis/ surgery;  Endophthalmitis/etiology;  Vitrectomy;  Silicone oils/therapeutic use