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Conjunctival flora not altered by glaucoma meds
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No significant difference in the makeup of the conjunctival flora was found in a study comparing eyes undergoing glaucoma surgery to eyes undergoing cataract surgery. Techniques commonly used for endophthalmitis prophylaxis before cataract surgery are likely to be appropriate for glaucoma surgery as well, the study authors suggest.
Herminia Mino de Kaspar, PhD, and colleagues at the Stanford School of Medicine in California prospectively studied the differences in conjunctival flora in 258 patients undergoing cataract surgery and 81 undergoing glaucoma surgery. Cultures were taken during the preoperative visit, and all bacterial isolates were identified.
Of the eyes undergoing cataract surgery, 215 (83%) were found to have positive bacterial growth, compared with 62 eyes (77%) of those undergoing glaucoma surgery. Staphylococci was the most common bacterial isolate, found in 65% of the eyes undergoing cataract surgery and 52% of those undergoing glaucoma surgery.
“Glaucoma medications, or their preservatives, do not appear to significantly alter conjunctival flora,” the study authors said.
The study is published in the December issue of Journal of Glaucoma.