The role of topical antibiotics in perioperative endophthalmitis prevention in cataract surgery

Postoperative endophthalmitis after cataract surgery, although very rare, remains an important cause of blindness. Practice patterns vary in many European countries. They include topical antibiotics before surgery, use of povidone-iodine, intracameral antibiotics at the end of the procedure, subconjunctival injection, use of topical antibiotics after surgery, and also emerging ideas such as dropless cataract surgery. The purpose of this article is to present the current management strategy and the role of local antibiotic therapy used in the prevention of endophthalmitis.