OBJECTIVETo review the distribution and trends of bacterial culture specimens in Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology.

METHODSA retrospective analysis of the bacterial culture-positive rate, the distribution of gram' s stain, and the distribution and change of isolates was performed on 4705 specimens during a 10-year period (1989- 1998).

RESULTSPositive cultures numbered 1339 of the 4705 specimens, with a positive rate of 28.6%. Gram-positive cocci constituted 55.6% of the total isolates, followed by gram-positive bacilli 13.1% . Gram-negative cocci accounted for 2.8%, and gram-negative bacilli 28.5% . In the positive bacteria cultures, coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (mainly Staphylococcous epidermidis) was the most common isolate (25.3%), and followed by Pseudomonas 18.8%, Micrococcus 11.7%, Cotynbaccterium 10.1%, and Staphylococcus aureus 8.2% . During the 10-year period, the overall frequency of gram-positive cocci appeared to increase with time while the frequency of gram-negative bacilli decreased.

CONCLUSIONSGram-positive cocci and gram-negative bacilli are still the predominant pathogens of ocular infection in northern China. The frequency of the former increases annually whereas that of the latter decreases. It is important to comprehend the distribution and trends of ocular pathogenic bacteria for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of bacterial infectious ocular disease.