RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Assessment of conjunctival flora in eyes with lacrimal passage obstruction before and after successful dacryoendoscopic recanalisation
JF British Journal of Ophthalmology
JO Br J Ophthalmol
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.
SP bjophthalmol-2020-316264
DO 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2020-316264
A1 Hiraoka, Takahiro
A1 Hoshi, Sujin
A1 Tasaki, Kuniharu
A1 Oshika, Tetsuro
YR 2020
UL http://bjo.bmj.com/content/early/2020/07/25/bjophthalmol-2020-316264.abstract
AB Background To investigate conjunctival bacterial flora in eyes with lacrimal passage obstruction before and after dacryoendoscopic recanalisation with lacrimal tube intubation.Methods One-hundred fifty eyes with lacrimal passage obstruction that were successfully treated by dacryoendoscopic recanalisation were enrolled. Conjunctival sampling was done for each eye before and 4 months after surgery. The lower fornix was rubbed by a sterile cotton swab, and the collected samples were cultured with several agar plates. Colonies were differentiated and enumerated by standard bacteriological laboratory techniques.Results Positive bacterial growth was detected in 42.0% of all the samples before surgery, and the positivity rate significantly decreased to 26.0% after surgery (p=0.0051). The number of strains detected also decreased from 20 before surgery to 9 after surgery, especially pathogenic microorganisms decreased. In addition, drug-resistant bacteria such as penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus were detected in nine eyes before surgery but were detected only in one eye after surgery. Coagulase-negative Staphylococci and Corynebacterium spp., which are common in normal conjunctival flora, accounted for 46.5% of all the isolates before surgery and 80.9% after surgery, showing a significant increase in the rate after surgery (p<0.0001).Conclusions This study showed that physiological recanalisation of lacrimal passage after dacryoendoscopic surgery significantly decreased the culture positivity rate of conjunctival sac and the number of microorganism strains detected. It also decreased the number of potentially pathogenic and drug-resistant bacteria and increased the percentages of indigenous bacteria, causing the normalisation of conjunctival flora.