10.17037/DATA.00005249
This dataset contains information collected from 88 patients enrolled in the study who presented at the Mbarara University and Referral Hospital Eye Hospital with signs of microbial keratitis between November 2023 and June 2025. It includes variables detailing participant demographics, clinical history, clinical presentation, and laboratory diagnoses based on corneal sample analysis.
The dataset is managed by the study team at the Mbarara University of Science and Technology and is not stored in the LSHTM repository. To request access, researchers should complete the application form, outlining their proposed research. The application will be reviewed by Mbarara’s data access committee. If approved, applicants will be required to sign a data transfer agreement prior to being provided with data.
| Variable Name | Variable Label | Answer Label | Answer Code | Variable Type |
| age_group | Participant age groups (in years). Main dataset contains precise distinct ages | Numeric | ||
| ≤30 | 1 | |||
| 31-40 years | 2 | |||
| 41-50 years | 3 | |||
| 51-60 years | 4 | |||
| ≥60 years | 5 | |||
| sex | Participants gender | Numeric | ||
| Female | 0 | |||
| Male | 1 | |||
| distance | Patient distance (km) travelled from place of residence to hospital | Open ended | Numeric | |
| symp_duration | Presentation time (in days) | Open ended | Numeric | |
| trauma | Did patient have trauma prior to symptoms? | Numeric | ||
| No | 0 | |||
| Yes | 1 | |||
| tem | Did the patient use any traditional eye medicine in managing current illness? | Numeric | ||
| No | 0 | |||
| Yes | 1 | |||
| ivcm | In vivo confocal microscopy | Numeric | ||
| . | 1 | |||
| Fungal hyphae | 2 | |||
| Fungus | 3 | |||
| No fungus | 4 | |||
| No fungal hyphae | 5 | |||
| Not done | 6 | |||
| Nothing significant seen | 7 | |||
| gram_results | Gram results | Numeric | ||
| Unknown | 0 | |||
| Bacterial | 1 | |||
| Fungal | 2 | |||
| Mixed | 3 | |||
| gram_fungus | Microscopy test using Gram stain for fungus | Numeric | ||
| Negative | 0 | |||
| Positive | 1 | |||
| cfw_fungus | Microscopy test using combination of Calcofluor white and Potassium Hydroxide st | Numeric | ||
| Negative | 0 | |||
| Positive | 1 | |||
| koh_fungus | Microscopy results on Potassium Hydroxide | Numeric | ||
| Negative | 0 | |||
| Positive | 1 | |||
| phone_microscope | Microscopy done using Gram stain and smartphone microscope | String | ||
| Nothing significant seen | 0 | |||
| Fungal hyphae | 1 | |||
| culture_overall | Overall yields from microscopy | Numeric | ||
| Negative | 0 | |||
| Positive | 1 | |||
| blood_agar | Fungal yields from cultures using Blood Agar | Numeric | ||
| Fungal | 1 | |||
| Mixed (bacterial+fungal) | 2 | |||
| No growth | 3 | |||
| Not done | 4 | |||
| chocolate_agar | Fungal yields from cultures using Chocolate Agar | Numeric | ||
| Fungal | 1 | |||
| No growth | 2 | |||
| Not done | 3 | |||
| sda_agar | Fungal yields from cultures using Sabourand Dextrose Agar | Numeric | ||
| Fungal | 1 | |||
| No growth | 2 | |||
| Not done | 3 | |||
| pda_agar | Fungal yields from cultures using Potato Dextrose Agar | Numeric | ||
| Fungal | 1 | |||
| No growth | 2 | |||
| Not done | 3 | |||
| Not done | 4 | |||
| sda_pda | Combined fungal results from Sabourands Dextrose Agar and Potato Dextrose Agar | Numeric | ||
| Negative | 0 | |||
| Positive | 1 | |||
| bhi_agar | Culture yields from culture using BHI | Numeric | ||
| Bacterial | 1 | |||
| Fungal | 2 | |||
| Mixed (bacterial+fungal) | 3 | |||
| No growth | 4 | |||
| Not done | 5 | |||
| fungal | 6 | |||
| pcr_fungus | Polymerase Chain Reaction Test for Fungus | Numeric | ||
| Negative | 0 | |||
| Positive | 1 | |||
| lamp | Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification test for Fungus | String | ||
| Negative for fungus | 0 | |||
| Positive for fungus | 1 |