Nocardia brasiliensis Endophthalmitis in a Patient with an Exposed Ahmed Glaucoma Drainage Implant

Abstract

Purpose: To report a case of endophthalmitis due to Nocardia brasiliensis in an eye with an exposed, infected Ahmed glaucoma drainage implant (GDI).

Design: Retrospective case report.

Methods: A patient with an exposed GDI experienced recurrent episodes of endophthalmitis despite repeated intravitreal injections of antibiotics and steroids. The tube was initially repositioned and finally removed.

Results: Whereas repeated cultures from the anterior chamber and vitreous were negative, cultures from the removed tube grew Nocardia brasiliensis. Despite oral trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and intravitreal amikacin the eye became phthisical and lost light perception.

Conclusions: An exposed GDI may lead to endophthalmitis due to Nocardia brasiliensis and may require explantation to establish a diagnosis.

KEYWORDS::

• Glaucoma
• Glaucoma drainage implant
• Endophthalmitis
• Nocardia
• Exposed drainage implant

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Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.