From the Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 98132-396, Zahedan, Islamic Republic of Iran.
Abstract: (4212 Views)
The objective of this study was to determine the most common type of pathogen
causing conjunctivitis. Out of 495 patients who referred to the Zahedan Eye Clinic
from May 22, 199 1 to October 22, 1992,296 cases were diagnosed as nonbacterial
conjunctivitis. From the remaining number of cases, two patients had chlamydia and
six patients had Candida albicans, while the frequency of bacterial infection was as
follows: N. gonorrhoeae7 patients, Hemophilus aegyptius in 11 patients, M oraxella
lacunata in 6 patients, Streptococcus pneumoniae in 57 patients, E. coli in 5 patients,
Staphylococcus aureus in 5 patients, Proteus mirabilis in 5 patients, Pseudomonas
aeruginosa in 8 patients, Gardnerella vaginalis in 4 patients, and providencia
species in one patient. Bacterial agents were isolated by Gram staining and culturing.
In conclusion our results show that the most common cause of conjunctivitis is
nonbacterial, but the most common cause of bacterial conjunctivitis is S. pneumoniae.
Furthermore, our incidence of chlamydia and N. gonorrhoeae was also more than
that in the literature.