Endophthalmitis After Cataract Surgery: A Postoperative Complication

Endophthalmitis is a condition of the eye caused due to complications in cataract surgery. The extent of this complication can be from minor to very serious, leading to a permanent loss of light perception. It is generally an inflammation of the fluids present in the anterior and posterior chamber of the eye, consisting of vitreous and aqueous fluid. The inflammation is due to the infection of these fluids after their exposure during or after the cataract surgery. In today's situation, patient surgery is the most frequently preferred for the correction or treatment of the cataract. There are various factors causing endophthalmitis in cataract surgery. This condition occurs mostly by the entry of infective bacteria such as staphylococcus, gram-negative organisms, and streptococcus species. As well as fungi like aspergillus and candida. Cataract surgery has many risk factors that can be divided into preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative phases. The most common symptom of this condition is pain in the eyes and redness, which sometimes leads to purulent discharge, causing decreased vision or loss of eyesight. The increasing inflammation of the vitreous fluid is the main identification of the condition. There is a surge of inflammatory cells in the space of the vitreous fluid. The condition can be classified into two types which are exogenous and endogenous. In these types, subtypes explain the postoperative complications of the disease. It is a rare condition, and the percentage of it occurring as a postoperative complication is very low. It generally targets the old age group of people. This narrative review article explains endophthalmitis as a postoperative complication of cataract surgery and its treatment modalities. The terms endophthalmitis, postoperative, cataract surgery, complications, and vitreous humor were used for the review article in PubMed.