This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Some preservative-free eye drops at risk of contamination
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Certain preservative-free eye drops in multiple-application containers are at risk of contamination by potentially pathogenic microorganisms, a recent study found.
M.Q. Rahman and colleagues at the Tennent Institute of Ophthalmology in Glasgow collected 95 bottles of 10 different types of nonpreserved eyes drops from both inpatients and outpatients. Bottles were collected on day 3 from inpatients and on day 7 from outpatients.
“Significant bacterial growth was found in eight bottles,” the authors said, for an overall incidence of 8.4%. None of 53 bottles containing antibiotic eye drops showed signs of contamination, but the overall incidence of contamination in nonantibiotic bottles was 19%.
Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose appeared to be the most often contaminated (60%), followed by prednisolone (21.4%) and acetylcysteine (11.1%).
Seven types of organisms were identified in the eye drops, including Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase negative staphylococcus and alpha streptococcus. S. aureus was the most common microbial organism found, the study authors said.
“Preservative-free eye drops in multiple-application containers are at risk of contamination with potentially pathogenic microorganisms,” the authors said. “The prescription of these drops to patients with compromised ocular surface defenses needs to be considered with caution.”
The study is published in the February issue of British Journal of Ophthalmology.