A rare case of Sphingomonas paucimobilis
endophthalmitis secondary to a penetrating globe injury with a retained intraocular
foreign body is presented. A 30-year-old man presented with severe
pain following a penetrating left
eye injury. Visual acuity (VA) was 6/120.
Slit-lamp examination revealed perforation of the temporal cornea and iris, hypopyon, and a fibrinous membrane covering the pupil. Ultrasonography showed dense vitreous infiltration and an orbital CT-scan confirmed the presence of a metallic
foreign body in the vitreous cavity. Topical and systemic
therapy were initiated. Pars-plana
vitrectomy combined with
phacoemulsification was performed in order to remove the
foreign body; vitreous samples were acquired and Sphingomonas paucimobilis, sensitive to
ceftazidime, was identified. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of Sphingomonas paucimobilis
endophthalmitis following penetrating ocular injury. In this case, Sphingomonas paucimobilis was not resistant to
antibiotics. This allowed for a good healing response following
vitrectomy despite the fact that long-term
retinal complications resulted in low VA.