Effect of topical application of 0.5% proparacaine on corneal culture results from 33 dogs, 12 cats, and 19 horses with spontaneously arising ulcerative keratitis.
Abstract: To investigate the effect of topically applied proparacaine on bacterial and fungal culture results and to compare cytologic and culture results in patients with ulcerative keratitis. Methods: Corneal samples were collected from 33 dogs, 19 horses, and 12 cats with spontaneously arising ulcerative keratitis. Samples for bacterial (dogs, cats, horses) and fungal (horses) cultures were collected prior to and following application of 0.5% proparacaine or saline. All patients then received a topical anesthetic, and samples were collected for cytology. Frequency of cultivatable bacteria before (Swab 1) and after (Swab 2) application of proparacaine or saline was compared using Fisher's exact test. Homogeneity of culture and cytology results was assessed using McNemar's test. Results: No difference was detected in number of animals from which bacteria were isolated from Swab 1 or Swab 2 for proparacaine (21/37 and 17/37, respectively) or saline (10/27 and 12/27, respectively). Small numbers prevented analysis of fungal culture results in horses between Swab 1 and Swab 2 for proparacaine (2/12 and 1/12, respectively) or saline (both, 1/8). Bacteria were isolated from 10 of 20 horses and detected cytologically in 3 of these; fungi were isolated from 3 of 20 horses and detected cytologically in 2 of these. Bacteria were detected more frequently using culture (31/64) than cytology (19/64). Conclusions: Proparacaine did not significantly alter bacterial or fungal culture results in cats, dogs, or horses; however, clinical significance warrants investigation. Culture and cytology provided complementary data; both should be performed to maximize organism detection in patients with ulcerative keratitis.
© 2018 American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists.
Publication Date: 2018-09-07 PubMed ID: 30193404DOI: 10.1111/vop.12604Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Clinical Trial
- Veterinary
- Journal Article
Summary
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This research explores the impact of using a topical anesthetic, proparacaine, on the results of bacterial and fungal cultures in animals with ulcerative keratitis, finding that proparacaine did not significantly change the culture results, but recommending further investigation for clinical significance.
Objective and Methodology
- This study aimed to understand the effects of applying proparacaine – a topical anesthetic – on the bacterial and fungal culture results in animals suffering from ulcerative keratitis. Evaluating the consistency of culture results and cytology was another objective.
- Corneal samples were collected from 64 animals (including 33 dogs, 12 cats, and 19 horses) all of which had spontaneously developed ulcerative keratitis.
- The samples for bacterial (across all animals) and fungal (only horses) cultures were collected both before and after the application of 0.5% proparacaine or saline solution.
- After applying a topical anesthetic, cytological samples were also collected from all patients.
- The research utilized statistical tests like Fisher’s exact test and McNemar’s test to analyze the data, comparing the frequency of cultivatable bacteria before and after the application of proparacaine or saline, and comparing the congruity of culture and cytology results, respectively.
Results
- The study found no significant difference in the number of animals from which bacteria were isolated before and after the application of either proparacaine or saline.
- In the case of fungal cultures in horses, no firm conclusion could be drawn due to the small sample size.
- The analysis showed bacterial presence was detected more frequently in culture (31 out of 64 animals) than in cytology (19 out of 64 animals). Cytological detection was lower due to possibly lower sensitivity.
Conclusions
- Based on the gathered data, the study concluded that the application of proparacaine did not significantly alter the results of bacterial or fungal culture in animals suffering from ulcerative keratitis.
- Even though no substantial difference was found, the importance of further investigation for clinical significance was underscored in the study.
- Given the cultures often detected bacteria more frequently than cytology, the study recommends the use of both methods simultaneously to maximize the detection of organisms in animals with ulcerative keratitis.
Cite This Article
APA
Edwards SG, Maggs DJ, Byrne BA, Kass PH, Lassaline ME.
(2018).
Effect of topical application of 0.5% proparacaine on corneal culture results from 33 dogs, 12 cats, and 19 horses with spontaneously arising ulcerative keratitis.
Vet Ophthalmol, 22(4), 415-422.
https://doi.org/10.1111/vop.12604 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California.
- Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences, University of California, Davis, California.
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology, University of California, Davis, California.
- Department of Population Health & Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California.
- Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences, University of California, Davis, California.
MeSH Terms
- Anesthetics, Local / pharmacology
- Animals
- Bacteria / drug effects
- Bacteria / isolation & purification
- Cat Diseases / microbiology
- Cats
- Cornea / drug effects
- Cornea / microbiology
- Corneal Ulcer / microbiology
- Corneal Ulcer / veterinary
- Dog Diseases / microbiology
- Dogs
- Female
- Fungi / drug effects
- Fungi / isolation & purification
- Horse Diseases / microbiology
- Horses
- Male
- Ophthalmic Solutions / pharmacology
- Propoxycaine / pharmacology
- Random Allocation
Grant Funding
- 2014-54R / Center for Companion Animal Health
- UC Davis Cello Funds
- 14-18R / Center for Equine Health
Citations
This article has been cited 2 times.- Pottier M, Castagnet S, Gravey F, Leduc G, Sévin C, Petry S, Giard JC, Le Hello S, Léon A. Antimicrobial Resistance and Genetic Diversity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Strains Isolated from Equine and Other Veterinary Samples. Pathogens 2022 Dec 30;12(1).
- Romanowski EG, Gupta S, Pericleous A, Kadouri DE, Shanks RMQ. Clearance of Gram-Negative Bacterial Pathogens from the Ocular Surface by Predatory Bacteria. Antibiotics (Basel) 2021 Jul 3;10(7).
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