AIM:To investigate the clinical characteristics and distribution of pathogens in patients with fungal keratitis and to provide evidence for diagnosis and treatment of this disease.

METHODS:The clinical data of 98 cases(98 eyes)with fungal keratitis from January 2012 to July 2015 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Yangtze University were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTS:The main cause for fungal keratitis was corneal injury by plants. The inappropriate use of contact lenses and glucocorticoids therapy were the next cause. Almost all of the patients had hyphae moss, pseudopodia, immune ring, and satellite signs. A few of patients had endothelial plaque and anterior chamber empyema. The majority pathogens of fungal keratitis was Fusarium spp(73.5%),followed by Aspergillus spp(13.2%),Candida spp(9.2%)and others(4.1%).Sixty-five patients(65 eyes)treated with 5% natamycin were cured. The condition of 15 patients was improved. Eighteen patients were invalid, in which 13 patients became better and 5 patients became worse after voriconazole was added into the therapy, leading to amniotic membrance cover in 3 patients and eyeball removal in 2 patients at last.

CONCLUSION:Fusarium genus is the predominant pathogen for fungal keratitis in Jingzhou. Natamycin can be used as the preferred drug for the prevention and treatment for fungal keratitis. The clinicians should pay attention to the fungal keratitis, in order to early diagnosis and timely treatment.