Comparative study of fungal culture and in vivo confocal microscopy in the diagnosis of non-primary fungal keratitis

AIM: To compare fungal culture and in vivo confocal microscopy(IVCM)in the diagnosis of non-primary fungal keratitis. METHODS: The clinical data of 31 cases(31 eyes)with non-primary fungaI keratitis from September 2016 to February 2017 in our HospitaI were retrospectiveIy reviewed. The positive rate of the two methods was compared by chi-square test. RESULTS: The positive rate by fungal culture was 58%(18/31)and IVCM was 19%(6/31); the positive rate comparison difference was statistically significant between fungal culture and IVCM(χ2=7.56,P<0.01). In the 13 eyes with positive culture results, 2 eyes were positive by IVCM; in the 25 positive IVCM eyes, 14 eyes were positive in culture. CONCLUSION: The positive rate of fungal culture in non-primary fungal keratitis is higher than that of IVCM. Fungal culture is an essential auxiliary examination in the diagnosis of non-primary fungal keratitis. With the characteristics of fast, noninvasive and repeatable, IVCM also plays an important role in the diagnosis of non-primary fungal keratitis. The combination of the two methods can improve the positive rate of diagnosis.