Find in Library

<b>Purpose:</b> Bacterial adherence to intraocular lenses (IOLs) has been incriminated in the pathogenesis of postoperative endophthalmitis. <i>Staphylococcus epidermidis</i> is the most common organism isolated. We studied the <i>in-vitro</i> adhesion of <i>Staphylococcus epidermidis</i> to Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) IOLs and the effect of duration of exposure to adherence. <b>Methods:</b> Two groups of 10 IOLs each were incubated in <i>Staphylococcus epidermidis</i> suspension for 2 minutes and 20 minutes respectively. Adhesion of bacterial cells was determined by counting the number of viable bacteria attached to IOLs. <b>Results:</b> The mean bacterial adherence with 2 minutes incubation was 12,889 &#x00B1; 7,150 bacteria / IOL and with 20 minutes incubation was 84,226 &#x00B1; 35,024 bacteria/IOL (P&#x0026;lt; 0.01). <b>Conclusion:</b> Our results show that <i>Staphylococcus epidermidis</i> adheres to PMMA IOLs in vitro and the degree of adherence is less for shorter duration of exposure. We conclude that viable bacteria irreversibly adherent to IOLs may play a role in the pathogenesis of postoperative endophthalmitis. Shorter duration of operative manipulation and exposure to contaminating sources may decrease the chances of postoperative endophthalmitis.