ABSTRACT
In addition to an initial socket discomfort, ocular prosthesis (OP) installation may allow the adherence of fungi and/or bacteria due to the superficial characteristics of the prosthesis' material, use of inadequate cleansing solutions and methods, or because the void located between the internal portion of the prosthesis and the anophthalmic cavity (AC) mucosa. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate OP biofilm formation and the level of contamination of the internal portion of the OP and the AC in 24 patients. Material and Methods: Material was collected from the AC at the beginning of the study and 15 days after cleansing of the OP with 3 cleansing solutions: a neutral liquid soap, a multiuse solution for contact lens (Complete) and 0.12 percent chlorhexidine (Periogard). The collected materials were sowed in Petri dishes containing selective media for aerobic and facultative microorganisms, specifically staphylococci (Hipersalt agar with egg yolk), aerobic microorganisms (Brain Heart Infusion Blood Agar), streptococci (Mitis salivarius Agar), gram-negative bacilli (MacConkey Agar) and yeasts (Chromagar CandidaTM), incubated at 35°C or 37°C and the number of colony forming units were counted. Data were analyzed statistically by ANOVA, Friedman's test and Spearman's correlation. Results: Aerobic microorganisms, gram-negative bacilli and S. aureus were found in the OP biofilm and in the AC. There was statistically significant difference (p<0.05) between the number of microorganisms before and after the use of the cleansing solutions. Conclusion: There was positive correlation with respect to the microorganisms present in the OP biofilm and AC for the 4 proposed treatments, indicating that the decrease of OP contamination leads to AC contamination as well.