Jaipur: Samples collected from five patients who developed severe eye infections after cataract surgeries at Kuchaman City’s govt hospital have been sent for culture testing, with doctors saying the results could help identify the organism and trace the source of infection.The patients were shifted to Jaipur’s SMS Hospital after reporting serious post-operative complications following cataract procedures performed on July 28.Officials said the patients arrived with suspected severe internal eye infections, prompting immediate specialist intervention.Acting medical superintendent of SMS Hospital, R K Jain, said samples had been taken from the affected patients and sent for culture examination. “We are waiting for the reports of culture tests to identify the kind of infection they have contracted. Treatment has already been started with antibiotics, and surgical procedures have also been done for all five patients,” he said.Doctors at SMS Hospital performed vitrectomy procedures on all five patients on July 30. The surgery is used in serious eye infections to remove infected vitreous gel, lower the bacterial or toxin burden inside the eye, and improve the effectiveness of medicines delivered to the infection site.A senior ophthalmologist said the culture reports will be critical in confirming the causative organism and assessing whether the current antibiotic regimen needs to be changed. The findings may also help investigators determine whether the infections were linked to surgical instruments, consumables, medicines, sterilisation lapses or another common exposure at the facility.Doctors said the outcome for each patient would depend on the severity of infection at the time treatment began, retinal involvement, and individual response to intensive medical and surgical management over the next several days. Visual prognosis remains under close clinical watch.
