Molecular biology applied to the laboratory diagnosis of bacterial endophthalmitis.

Bacterial endophthalmitis is a serious but uncommon intraocular infection which frequently results in vision loss. Early diagnosis and appropriate therapy are associated with better visual outcome. Conventional microbiological methods are currently used for microbiological characterization of eyes with suspected endophthalmitis. However, the sensitivity of bacterial detection from aqueous and vitreous humor using microbiology techniques is poor, and time-consuming to confirm the results. The application of molecular methods enhances significantly laboratory confirmation of bacterial endophthalmitis, demanding a shorter time to draw a definitive result and thereby promoting the early initiation of a more specific therapy to limit the empirical or unnecessary use of broad-spectrum antibiotics. PCR-based techniques, including post-PCR methods such RFLP, DNA probe hybridization and DNA sequencing have been successfully used for the diagnostic elucidation of clinically suspected bacterial endophthalmitis cases, showing promising application in the routine practice of ocular microbiology laboratories.