Investigation of the presence of mycobacteria along with microbial agents in cases of keratitis

Objective: Because of various problems in the differential diagnosis of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), clinicians may ignore these opportunistic bacteria. DNA is usually extracted from the bacterial culture in polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based molecular methods, which have been successfully applied in recent years in the diagnosis of extrapulmonary mycobacterial infections such as mycobacterial keratitis, as well as in mycobacterial identification and drug resistance determination in patients with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis. Considering the difficulties experienced in culture, especially in mycobacteria, it is thought that DNA extraction not only from culture but also directly from clinical samples will shed light on the development of rapid and accurate diagnostic protocols. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the presence of mycobacteria along with microbial agents in corneal scraping samples of patients with keratitis. Methods: Corneal scraping samples were collected for bacteriological and mycological examinations from