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Fungal keratitis culture results from a major commercial laboratory

Eye (2024)Cite this article

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In the United States, nearly 1 million healthcare visits for keratitis (inflammation of the cornea) occur each year, and an estimated 6% of suspected microbial keratitis cases are caused by fungi [1, 2]. However, data on the causative species of fungal keratitis primarily come from decades-old single-center studies [3]. To better characterize the burden of fungal keratitis and help inform treatment practices, we used data from a major national commercial laboratory to describe testing patterns and causative species.

We analyzed nationwide Labcorp data sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Syndromic Surveillance Program (https://www.cdc.gov/nssp/index.html). We identified results of fungal cultures ordered during March 1, 2019–October 1, 2023 and selected patients with International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision code H16 (keratitis) listed as a reason for testing.

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Data availability

This study used third-party data that we cannot legally distribute. All relevant summary data are within the manuscript and the supporting files.

References

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Acknowledgements

This activity was reviewed by the CDC and was conducted consistent with applicable federal law and CDC policy (e.g., 45C.F.R. part 46.102(l)(2), 21C.F.R. part 56; 42 U.S.C. §241(d); 5 U.S.C. §552a; 44 U.S.C. §3501 et seq.). The data are fully de-identified, so this analysis was not subject to review by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention institutional review board. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Kaitlin Benedict, Jeremy A. W. Gold, Shawn R. Lockhart & Dallas J. Smith

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  1. Kaitlin Benedict
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  2. Jeremy A. W. Gold
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  3. Shawn R. Lockhart
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  4. Dallas J. Smith
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Contributions

KB performed the data analysis, and all authors contributed to interpreting the results and writing and editing the report.

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Correspondence to Kaitlin Benedict.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Benedict, K., Gold, J.A.W., Lockhart, S.R. et al. Fungal keratitis culture results from a major commercial laboratory. Eye (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-024-03120-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-024-03120-2

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