Safety Intervention Reduces Incidence of Postoperative Endophthalmitis

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 19, 2026 (HealthDay News) — A multifaceted surgical safety intervention is effective and sustainable in reducing the incidence of postoperative endophthalmitis (POE) following ophthalmic surgery, according to a study published in the September issue of Eye Discovery.

Biyun Zhan, from Fudan University in Shanghai, and colleagues evaluated the impact of a multifaceted surgical safety intervention (surgical safety visual cues, periodic training and education, regulation of surgical instruments, surface microbial sampling, and video-based performance review) on the POE rate among 191,657 inpatients undergoing ophthalmic surgery. Incidence rates before (2017 to 2019) and after (2020 to 2023) implementation were compared.

The researchers found that POE incidence decreased by 64.4 percent after intervention (from 0.038 percent at preintervention to 0.013 percent at postintervention). There was a significant downward trend in annual POE incidence with continued implementation (incidence rate ratio, 0.619). Patients undergoing cataract and crystalline lens surgery had the highest POE incidence across the study period (0.055 percent). This subspecialty showed a greater than sixfold reduction after intervention (preintervention, 0.132 percent; postintervention, 0.021 percent).

“The consistent application of this approach in the study center over the past five years has yielded long-term benefits and has garnered approval from the surgical team and hospital,” the authors write. “The study intervention may offer a scalable and adaptable framework that can be effectively adopted by ophthalmic and general surgery centers.”

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