Burkholderia cepacia endophthalmitis, in a penicillin allergic patient, following a ranibizumab injection.

Burkholderia cepacia, a Gram-negative bacterium commonly found in water and soil, is a rare cause of endophthalmitis. The authors report a case of a penicillin-allergic patient who presented 15 days after an uneventful injection of ranibizumab for neovascular age-related macular degeneration with culture-positive B cepacia endophthalmitis. Initial antibiotic therapy using non-penicillin-based medications was not successful in eradicating the bacteria. Subsequent treatment with a third-generation cephalosporin resulted in complete resolution of the infection. B cepacia should be included among the bacterial species that may cause endophthalmitis after intravitreal injections.