[Microbial keratitis: Understand, recognize, and treat - part 1: General aspects and characteristics of bacterial keratitis].

Infectious inflammation of the cornea (microbial keratitis) represents a potentially vision threatening disease. Depending on the infectious agent and the course of the disease it can result in a complete loss of the involved eye. Early diagnosis and accurate treatment are mandatory to maintain a sufficient visual acuity. The purpose of this review is to highlight and discuss characteristic clinical features, diagnostic procedures, and therapeutic aspects of three major forms of microbial keratitis (bacteria, fungi, and acanthamoeba; the latter two in the 2nd part of this article).