Bacterial Endophthalmitis Following Vitrectomy

To the Editor. —The FebruaryArchivescontained a fine article by Ho and Tolentino1describing the dismal results following treatment of endophthalmitis after vitrectomy. We certainly agree with the authors' conclusion that the poor outcome seems to result from difficulty in diagnosing the condition in its early stages. We recently reported retinal periphlebitis as an early fundus sign of endophthalmitis.2(Our article was published after the Ho and Tolentino article was submitted.) This finding helped us to recognize endophthalmitis early in several clinical cases. One of our patients had a staphylococcal endophthalmitis following vitrectomy. Prompt treatment of the endophthalmitis led to visual recovery of 20/50. To our knowledge, this is the only reported case of endophthalmitis after vitrectomy with a good visual outcome. We certainly agree with Ho and Tolentino in emphasizing the importance of early diagnosis of endophthalmitis. Retinal periphlebitis is one additional clue that can help