Purpose: To evaluate Colletotrichum keratitis and to report the risk factors and clinical course.
Design: Interventional case series.
Methods: In order to report the clinical course of Colletotichum keratitis, fungal keratitis cases between January 1980 and February 2001 in an institutional setting were retrospectively reviewed and 10 eyes of 9 patients with Colletotrichum keratitis were identified by positive cultures.
Results: Colletotrichum species were identified in 10 of 360 culture-proven fungal keratitis cases. All cases were sensitive to amphotericin B, three of the isolates showed resistance to natamycin, two isolates had intermediate sensitivity to natamycin, and one isolate was resistant to fluconazole. Natamycin 5% was used as the initial antifungal agent in eight microbiologically proven fungal keratitis cases. Two of nine patients continued the treatment with amphotericin B 0.15% after the sensitivity results were obtained.
Conclusion: Colletotrichum is an infrequent cause of fungal keratitis. The risk factors are similar to the known fungal keratitis. Colletotrichum is resistant to natamycin in vitro; however, all our patients responded well to this treatment while resistance or intermediate sensitivity to natamycin and resistance to fluconazole was observed.