A September operation to remove Clara Oliva’s infected right eye may be the reason she is alive today. But the infection, in many ways, still claimed her life.
It was her good eye – the one Oliva, 68, expected would allow her to carry on her regular grandmother duties or continue her career as a cosmetologist. She begged doctors to save it. But a rare, deadly bacteria unfazed by antibiotics was afoot, and they couldn’t allow it to spread.
Now legally blind, Oliva's life has changed “1,000 percent.”
Nothing can restore her sight, Oliva says, but she hopes a lawsuit against the maker of recently recalled eye drops linked to a deadly outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa can deliver accountability, and prevent others from meeting the same fate.
Recalled Ezricare eye drops linked to outbreak
Oliva, who lives in Miami, is suing India-based Global Pharma Healthcare, the maker of Ezricare Artificial Tears, which she was prescribed for her dry eyes last year. The suit also names Ezricare, EzriRx and Aru Pharma, the U.S.-based distributors of the drops.
The eye drops were recalled in early February after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked them to an outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. As of Monday, the eye drops were thought to have infected 68 people across 16 states.
Three people have died, eight people have reported vision loss and there have been four reports of enucleation, the procedure to remove the eyeball Oliva underwent, according to the CDC.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a rare, extensively drug-resistant bacteria that had not been seen in the United States before last year, the CDC said.
'I couldn't sleep because of the pain'
Officials were able to trace the current outbreak to the use of over 10 different brands of eye drops, but noted that the most commonly reported brand used was EzriCare Artificial Tears, which is a preservative free eye-lubricant.
Oliva said she was prescribed the recalled drops in May to alleviate dry eyes brought on by contact lenses. Her insurance no longer covered the previous brand she used.
After months of using the drops, her right eye became swollen and red on August 1, and she sought treatment at a Leon Medical Centers facility in West Hialeah, Florida, where doctors diagnosed Oliva with a scratched cornea and prescribed her a suite of antibiotics, according to the lawsuit. Despite taking the medication, the eye’s condition worsened.
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Three days later, Oliva wound up in the emergency room at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami. Doctors there identified an ulcer in her eye, took culture samples for analysis and upped the dosages and frequency of her initially prescribed medication, according to the lawsuit.
Oliva would return 10 times to the doctor over the month of August, according to the lawsuit.
“I couldn’t sleep because of the pain,” Oliva said. She would spend entire days at the hospital.
The analysis on the sample taken from her returned on August 10, and showed the presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
A couple of weeks later, doctors began an operation to remove part of Oliva's cornea and replace it with donor tissue. But the surgeon aborted the operation, according to the lawsuit. The extent of the infection was beyond the scope of the procedure.
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