THE CONJUNCTIVAL BACTERIAL CONTAMINATION IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING CATARACT SURGERY
Abstract:
Endophthalmitis is a serious postoperative complication of cataract surgery. The patient’s
own ocular and periocular flora is the most common source of infection. A total of 605 patients
undergoing cataract surgery were included in the study. The study ran for a one-year period, from
June 2019 to August 2020. Conjunctival swabs were obtained from all the patients and Gram staining
was performed. Staphylococcus was the most common isolate. The results were similar with those
found in other studies. Despite of the rise in the incidence with age, we observed a higher rate of
Gram-negative bacterial infection in younger patients and the incidence decreased gradually with
age. In conclusion, younger patients have a lower rate of bacterial conjunctival contamination, but
they have a higher proportion of contamination with Gram-negative bacteria. Older patients have a
higher rate of ocular surface contamination, most commonly with Gram-positive bacteria.
full text article in English (.EN) |