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Introduction: The overall changing epidemiology of fungal infections in the current scenario isbecause of an increase in immunocompromised population including cancer patients, Humanimmunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients, transplant receipts, and prolonged hospitalizationwith overuse of antimicrobial agents. These infections are challenging to diagnose and subsequentlymanage as their clinical symptomatology often mimics other common diseases like tuberculosis.Rapid diagnosis is limited and culture is often delayed due to slow growth rates of the causativeagents. Objective: This is a retrospective study to know the spectrum and burden of mycoticinfections in a tertiary care hospital. Methods: All samples collected from clinically suspected casesof fungal infections were sent to the Microbiology department over one year. The common specimensreceived were respiratory samples, scrapings from cornea, skin, and nail. All samples were firstobserved under direct microscopy using Potassium hydroxide (KOH) examination for the presence offungal elements and Gram stain for yeasts. India Ink examination was performed for sterile fluids.Fungal culture was done on Sabouraud's dextrose agar. Result: A total of 900 samples from variousdepartments were included, KOH examination was positive for 380 samples (42%) and fungalgrowth was obtained in 144 samples (16%). Rare fungi like Trichosporon dohaense (blood culture),Cladophialophora bantiana (brain abscess), Scedosporium apiospermum and Candida auris (bloodculture) were also isolated. Conclusion: Similar studies are needed to estimate the actual burden ofthe fungal infections in tertiary care health facilities, to help decrease the morbidity and mortalityassociated with underdiagnosed mycotic infections.

Background: Microbial keratitis is one of the most significant causes of blindness in our country.Knowledge regarding the aetiology and antibiotic sensitivity pattern in a specific region is crucial forthe ideal management of these infections. Materials and Methods: A prospective study wherecorneal scrapings from 161 suspected cases of microbial keratitis were collected and were subjectedto direct microscopy by gram stain and bacterial culture and identification as well as antibioticsensitivity testing. Results: A total of 57 samples turned out to be positive out of the total 161 andwere shared equally by both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. All these culture-positivebacteria were also identified by MALDI TOF-MS and were speciated. Few rare organisms which couldnot be identified by conventional means were also recovered using the same. Most of the gram-positive isolates showed good sensitivity to vancomycin and ciprofloxacin whereas Pseudomonas sppwas found to be resistant to the aminoglycosides. Conclusion: Right knowledge about the localprofile of bacterial causes of keratitis along with its antibiotic resistance pattern will help theclinicians immensely and help them to initiate the correct empirical therapy bases on the smearresults without wasting crucial time.