Author: Marco Pastore (Italy)
Co-authors: Lorenzo Belfanti, Riccardo Merli, Gabriella Cirigliano, Daniele Tognetto
Purpose
To assess the antimicrobial activity of the antiseptic ophthalmic solution with preservative-free 0.6% povidone-iodine as a prophylactic treatment in eyes scheduled for intravitreal treatments, and to compare its efficacy to the untreated fellow eye used as the control group.
Setting/Venue
Eye Clinic, Department of Medical, Surgical Sciences and Health, University of Trieste, and Microbiology Unit, University Hospital of Trieste.
Methods
Prospective cohort analysis in which 208 patients received preservative-free 0.6% povidone-iodine eye drops (IODIM®, Medivis, Catania, Italy) three times a day for three days before the intravitreal injection. Before and after the prophylactic treatment, a conjunctival swab was collected from both the study eye and the untreated contralateral eye, used as control. The swab was inoculated on different culture media and the colony-forming units were counted. Bacteria and fungi were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-ToF-MS, VITEK® MS Plus).
Results
A statistically significant decrease (p<0.001) of the bacterial growth from conjunctival swab cultures was found in the study group, with an eradication rate of 82%. The most commonly isolated pathogen at each time point and in both groups was coagulase-negative Staphylococci, isolated in 84% of the positive cultures. Other bacteria identified in order of frequency were staphylococci aureus and other gram-positive bacteria. 8 (3.9%) out of 208 patients who underwent 0.6% PI eye drops treatment experienced conjunctival hyperemia with light serous conjunctival discharge in 3 eyes (1.4%).
Conlusions
This large independent study conducted on two-hundred and eight eyes provides evidence about the effectiveness of 0.6% povidone-iodine eye drops in reducing the conjunctival bacterial load in eyes scheduled for intravitreal treatment while also showing a good safety profile.
Financial Disclosure
None
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