Inpatient Ophthalmology Consultation for Fungemia: Prevalence of Ocular Involvement and Necessity of Funduscopic Screening.

PURPOSE: To determine the generalizability of recent data assessing the necessity of ophthalmic consultation for fungemic patients, we examined the prevalence, microbial profile, and treatment of fungal chorioretinitis and endophthalmitis among patients with positive fungal cultures referred for ophthalmologic consultation at a tertiary care medical center.

DESIGN

Retrospective cross-sectional study.

METHODS

All inpatient ophthalmology consultations from Wills Eye Hospital at Thomas Jefferson University between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2012 were retrospectively reviewed and cross-referenced to a microbiologic database of positive fungal blood cultures. This included 227 adult consecutive inpatients with positive fungal blood cultures (n = 215) or suspected fungemia (n = 12). Clinical data were extracted from records held by the microbiology laboratory and inpatient records. Patients were deemed to have ocular fungal involvement if dilated fundus examination demonstrated evidence of chorioretinitis or endophthalmitis.

RESULTS

Two hundred and twenty-seven consultations were requested to evaluate patients for ocular manifestations of fungemia. Eleven patients (4.8%, 95% CI 2.4%-8.5%) were diagnosed with fungal chorioretinitis or endophthalmitis. Of these 11 patients, 5 had visual symptoms, 2 were asymptomatic, and 4 were unable to communicate. A total of 5 patients (2.2%) received intravitreal injections following funduscopic screening. An additional 11 patients (4.8%) had nonspecific fundus lesions considered to be inconsistent with ocular fungal involvement. The most common fungal species identified were Candida albicans (n = 85), Candida glabrata (n = 63), and Candida parapsilosis (n = 44).

CONCLUSIONS

The current study found a low rate of disseminated ocular involvement in patients with positive fungal cultures referred for ophthalmologic consultation. However, 2 patients with ocular fungal involvement denied visual symptoms and over half of affected patients were asymptomatic or unable to communicate. As the presence and severity of ocular involvement in fungemic patients may dictate the mode and duration of antifungal treatment, funduscopic screenings may still have an important role.