Microbial spectrum and antibiotic sensitivity in infantile dacryocystitis.

PURPOSE: To identify the characteristics and the spectrum of microbial agents of infantile dacryocystitis and to assess the trends in both antibiotic sensitivities and pathogens over the past 10 years.

METHODS

The microbial and medical records of 546 culture-proven patients (546 eyes) of infantile dacryocystitis diagnosed at Henan Eye Hospital between January 2009 and December 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Patient demographics, microbial analysis, and susceptibility rates to various antibiotics were done. A chi-squared test for trends was applied to evaluate changes in antibiotic susceptibility and microbial spectrum over time.

RESULTS

A total of 546 patients with infantile dacryocystitis were documented. The average age was 2.97 ± 4.15 months, and 42.7% were female. The proportion of gram-positive microbes, gram-negative microbes, and fungi was 80.2, 19.4, and 0.4%, respectively. Minocycline was sensitive to gram-positive bacteria (98.0%). Imipenem was sensitive to gram-negative bacteria (89.2%). Increasing susceptibility was observed in two bacterial isolates: Staphylococcus aureus (P = 0.005) and Streptococcus mitis (P = 0.001). Decreasing susceptibility was observed in one bacterial isolate: Staphylococcus epidermidis (P < 0.0001). Increasing microbial susceptibility over time was detected for 12 antibiotics. Decreasing microbial sensitivity was observed for one antibiotic.

CONCLUSIONS

The most common cause of infantile dacryocystitis is Staphylococcus epidermidis. Though a significant trend towards increasing microbial sensitivity to some antibiotics was observed, including glycopeptides, cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, tetracyclines, and lincosamides, a significant trend towards decreasing microbial sensitivity to amikacin was also detected.