Abstract:
OBJECTIVE To explore the etiological characteristics, inflammatory factors and Toll like receptors(TLRs)of the patients with fungal keratitis.
METHODS A total of 80 patients with fungal keratitis(80 eyes) who were treated in the Ophthalmic Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University from Nov 2018 to Oct 2019 were recruited as the study subjects, meanwhile, 80 high myopia patients who underwent visual acuity examination were set as the control group. The pathogens isolated from the patients were identified by corneal smear test and fungal culture, and the levels of C-reactive protein(CRP), procalcitonin(PCT), toll like receptor 2(TLR2), TLR7 and TLR9 in tear specimens were detected by means of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.
RESULTS Totally 80 strains of fungi were isolated from the 80 patients with fungal keratitis(80 eyes), 47.50% of which were
Fusarium, 38.75% were
Aspergillus, and 6.25% were
Alternaria. The levels of tears CRP, PCT, TLR2 and TLR7 of the study group were significantly higher than those of the control group, the TLR9 level of the study group was significantly lower than that of the control group(
P<0.05); the levels of tears CRP, PCT, TLR2 and TLR7 of the severe group were significantly higher than those of the moderate group and the mild group, the TLR9 level of the severe group was significantly lower than that of the moderate group and the mild group; the levels of tears CRP, PCT, TLR2 and TLR7 of the moderate group were significantly higher than those of the mild group, and the TLR9 level of the moderate group was significantly lower than that of the mild group(
P<0.05). The levels of tears CRP, PCT, TLR2 and TLR7 of the recurrence group were significantly higher than those of the no recurrence group, while the TLR9 level of the recurrence group was significantly lower than that of the no recurrence group(
P<0.05).
CONCLUSION Fusarium is dominant among the pathogens isolated from the patients with fungal keratitis in Shandong province. The CRP, PCT, TLR2, TLR7 and TLR9 in tears have certain clinical value in reflecting the severity and recurrence of the disease.