Study of conjunctival flora in anophthalmic patients: influence on the comfort of the socket.

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between conjunctival flora and comfort of the socket in anophthalmic patients.

Methods: A cross-sectional clinical study including 60 patients with unilateral anophthalmia who wear a prosthetic eye. From each patient three microbiological samples were taken from the lower conjunctival sac (healthy eye, pre-prosthesis, and retro-prosthesis space of socket). The 180 samples obtained were cultured. Samples from a randomized subgroup of 29 patients were measured by spectrophotometry at 540 nm after 48 h of growth, to determine their microbial density (MD). The grade of comfort of the socket (GCS) of each patient was established by a questionnaire. Epidemiological and clinical data of the anophthalmic socket and artificial eye care of each patient were also collected.

Results: MD decreased in healthy eyes (0.213 ± 0.201, P = 0.004) compared with the pre-prosthesis (0.402 ± 0.323) and retro-prosthesis (0.438 ± 0.268) samples. Pre-prosthesis MD correlated with retro-prosthesis MD (R = 0.401, P = 0.031) and healthy eye MD (R = 0.482, P = 0.008), and it was also related to poor GCS (P = 0.017). Aerobic Gram-negative bacteria in retro-prosthesis samples of patients with poor GCS was higher than in patients with good or fair GCS (P = 0.008). In the same samples, coagulase-negative staphylococci proportion (excluding S. epidermidis) increased in patients with good GCS (P = 0.030).

Conclusions: Socket microflora is related to GCS. Increased pathogenic flora, especially Gram-negative bacteria, and high MD are related to discomfort, while coagulase-negative staphylococci (other than S. epidermidis) are associated with comfort.