Date: {{$ActivityAssignDate}}

Dear Dr. {{$doctorName}},

Subject: Participation in survey “Diagnosis and management of ocular surface infections”

The external ocular surface harbors commensal organisms, such as Staphylococcus species, Corynebacterium species, and Propionibacterium species, which form the resident flora. Given a chance, any environmental organism can become a transient flora in the eye. The intraocular tissues and spaces, however, are sterile. While the conjunctiva is protected by blood supply, the cornea is avascular; therefore, the types of organisms invading these tissues may vary. The intraocular tissues are relatively immune-privileged and can be infected by any organism that manages to enter the inside of the eye. Trauma is an important predisposing factor for infection of the cornea and intraocular tissues. While exogenous infections are most common, eye infection may develop by spread of infection from neighbouring organs or hematogenously. Ocular infections may be caused by bacteria, fungi, parasites, or viruses, and each of these may produce a spectrum of disease. It is usually challenging to determine the causative agent based on clinical features because they may or may not be distinctive. Many a time, it may not even be possible to discriminate between infective or non-infective conditions. In addition, the prevalence and distribution of type of infectious agents associated with eye infections widely vary and are dependent on variety of factors.

There is limited real-world data available on the usage of antioxidants in management of ocular surface infections in India. Therefore, this multicentric survey is designed to understand the diagnosis and management of ocular surface infections in India in India.

If you agree to participate, you will be required to respond to questions of the enclosed questionnaire. We trust you and we are partners in promoting safe and effective drug therapy. In that spirit we hope you will consent to participate in this survey. If you do, please sign and return the enclosed reply along with your visiting card for accuracy of records.