Contamination Of Contact Lens Storage Cases Of Refractive Surgery Candidates

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Article Date: 10 Nov 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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Millions of people around the world wear contact lenses, with 24 million wearers in the U.S. alone. While contact lens care is generally very safe, lenses that are not properly cleaned and disinfected increase the risk of severe eye infection. Any lens that is removed from the eye needs to be cleaned and disinfected before it is reinserted. Care of contact lenses includes cleaning the storage case, since it is a potential source of infection.

Assaf Kratz, MD, and Tova Lifshitz, MD, of Soroka University Medical Center in Israel, and their colleagues studied the rate of contamination in contact lens storage cases by taking samples of the contact lens disinfection solution from lens cases belonging to candidates for refractive surgery. Thirty storage cases of 16 asymptomatic candidates were tested for the study. In two-thirds of the storage cases, at least one pathogen was detected. The most common pathogen was Pseudomonas (41.2 percent), a known cause of severe corneal infections. Fungal pathogens were found in 3.3 percent of the cases. Pathogens were found in all of the types of storage solutions that were studied; some solutions tested positive for pathogens every time they were tested among the samples. The pathogens can cause keratitis, an often painful inflammation of the cornea; complications from keratitis can lead to vision loss.

"The picture that arises from this study is disturbing," the authors conclude. "It seems that the commonly used disinfecting solutions provide little protection from contamination of contact lens storage cases." The authors urge contact lens wearers to closely adhere to contact lens care guidelines, including frequent cleaning and replacing their lens case regularly, in order to prevent contamination.

About the Academy-SOE Joint Meeting

The 2008 Joint Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and European Society of Ophthalmology is the largest and most comprehensive ophthalmic educational meeting in the world. It is in session November 8 to 11 at the Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GA. Offerings include 277 continuing medical education courses, 179 "Breakfast with the Experts" roundtables, 95 skills transfer courses, and more than 100 hours of scientific program presentations, at no charge.

About the American Academy of Ophthalmology

AAO is the world's largest association of eye physicians and surgeons-Eye M.D.s-with more than 27,000 members worldwide. Eye health care is provided by the three "O's" - opticians, optometrists and ophthalmologists. It is the ophthalmologist, or Eye M.D., who can treat it all: eye diseases and injuries, and perform eye surgery. To find an Eye M.D. in your area, visit the Academy's Web site at http://www.aao.org/

Source
Mary Wade
American Academy of Ophthalmology