Clostridium perfringens infection following open globe injury due to firecracker blast: A rare case report from Southern India.

PURPOSE: Open globe injuries [OGIs] are ocular emergencies which can lead to visual impairment, especially when associated with infection.

METHODS

This case report presents a rare case of Clostridium perfringens isolated from the eye following a firecracker injury in a 38-year-old man.

RESULTS

The patient underwent evisceration as the globe tissue was friable and could not be salvaged and promptly started on antibiotics. Anaerobic culture of a foreign body removed during surgery showed growth of C. perfringens.

CONCLUSION

C. perfringens, an anaerobic bacterium, is a rare but highly virulent ocular pathogen that can cause fulminant endophthalmitis, which may progress to panophthalmitis and require globe removal.