Microbial Contamination in Contact Lenses, Lens Care Solutions, and Accessories Among Asymptomatic Soft Contact Lens Users.

Objective This study aimed to evaluate microbial contamination of contact lenses (CL) and their accessories among asymptomatic lens users and identify behavioral risk factors that might exacerbate the said contamination. Methodology Ninety-five asymptomatic soft CL users were recruited. In total, 380 samples were collected from the inner surface of lenses, the base of lens cases, the tip of the multipurpose solution bottle, and the solution itself. All swabs with samples were inoculated onto Columbia 5% sheep blood agar, MacConkey agar, Pseudomonas agar with cetrimide, and Sabouraud dextrose agar. Blood agar, MacConkey agar, and Pseudomonas agar with cetrimide were incubated at 37 °C for 24-48 hours. Fungal growth was investigated on Sabouraud dextrose agar, incubated at 25 °C, and examined daily for three weeks. Microscopic examination, culture-based methods, and biochemical tests were used to identify isolated microorganisms. A self-administered questionnaire on compliance with care and hygiene procedures was completed by each participant. Results The overall microbial contamination of tested samples was 38.7%. The most frequently contaminated items were lens cases (59, 62.1%), followed by bottles (44, 46.3%) and lenses (35, 36.8%). Meanwhile, the lowest incidence of contamination was seen in lens multipurpose solutions (9, 9.5%). The predominant microorganisms recovered were Coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CoNS) (94, 64%) and Gram-positive rods (29, 19.7%). Other identified potential pathogens were Staphylococcus aureus (11, 7.5%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (5, 3.4%), Escherichia coli (1, 0.7%), and Candida albicans (2, 1.4%). The questionnaire revealed that contact lens users aged 18 to 20 showed a lack of compliance with proper hygienic care for contact lens maintenance. Risk factors such as male gender, smoking, showering, or swimming while wearing CL were related to microbiological contamination in at least one of the samples (P > 0.05). Conclusions The highest degree of contamination with highly virulent pathogens was determined in lens cases owing to insufficient lens care practices among study participants. Noncompliance with the lens cleaning procedures can lead to microbial colonization of the lens and its accessories, prompting inflammatory events in the eyes in the future.

An Evaluation of the Quality of Life and Emotional Status of Patients With Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators at the Vilnius University Hospital, Lithuania.

Background and objective An arrhythmia is a disorder of the heart rate or rhythm. An implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is a small electronic device connected to the heart to continuously keep track of and help control rapid and sometimes life-threatening electrical problems with the heart. However, it may result in psychological tension in patients' lives, eventually affecting their quality of life (QoL). In light of this, we aimed to assess the QoL of patients with ICD at the Vilnius University Hospital, Lithuania. Methods We employed the following three questionnaires in this study: an originally prepared questionnaire including sociodemographic and health factors; the 36-item Short Form Health Survey questionnaire (SF-36); and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) to assess depression and anxiety. Data analysis was performed using SPSS Statistics v. 13.00 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results Of the patients evaluated in all areas of QoL, males demonstrated higher scores compared to females. A statistically significant difference was found when assessing the domains of physical activity, social function, pain, and physical and mental health QoL. Conclusions Based on our findings, the majority of ICD patients can achieve their desired QoL and psychosocial outcomes. Our results show that patients with ICDs have the potential to return to a normal life. Depression and anxiety manifested more commonly in respondents with a disease duration of up to five years.

Antimicrobial Resistance and the Prevalence of the Panton-Valentine Leukocidin Gene among Clinical Isolates of Staphylococcus aureus in Lithuania.

This study aimed to determine resistance to antimicrobials of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from clinical specimens in Lithuanian hospitals and to identify the genes conferring resistance and virulence. The study was carried out from June 2019 to September 2021. S. aureus strains were isolated from skin, soft tissues, blood, lower respiratory tract, urine and other specimens. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using the disc diffusion method according to EUCAST guidelines. All isolates were analyzed for detection of the ermA, ermC, mecA, mecC, tetK, tetM, and lukF-PV genes by multiplex real-time PCR. The 16S rRNA coding sequence was applied as an internal PCR control. Altogether, 745 S. aureus strains were analyzed. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed that all isolates were susceptible to rifampin and vancomycin. Of the 745 strains, 94.8% were susceptible to tetracycline, 94.5% to clindamycin, and 88.3% to erythromycin. The lowest susceptibility rate was found for penicillin (25.8%). Six percent of the tested strains were methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). The majority of methicillin-resistant strains were isolated from skin and soft tissues (73.3%), with a smaller portion isolated from blood (17.8%) and respiratory tract (8.9%). The ermC gene was detected in 41.1% of erythromycin-resistant S. aureus strains, whereas ermA was detected in 32.2% of erythromycin-resistant S. aureus strains. 69.2% of tetracycline-resistant S. aureus strains had tetK gene, and 28.2% had tetM gene. 7.3% of S. aureus isolates harbored lukF-PV gene. The frequency of the pvl gene detection was significantly higher in MRSA isolates than in methicillin-susceptible S. aureus isolates (p < 0.0001).

Alkyl Gallates as Potential Antibiofilm Agents: A Review.

Biofilms, which consist of microorganisms embedded in a polymer-rich matrix, contribute to a variety of infections and increase antimicrobial resistance. Thus, there is a constant need to develop new chemotherapeutic agents to combat biofilms. This review article focuses on the use of alkyl gallates, gallic acid and its esters (methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, hexyl, octyl, and dodecyl gallate), most of which are found in plants, to inhibit biofilm formation. The studies under review reveal that alkyl gallates have the capacity to prevent biofilm development and eradicate mature biofilms through mechanisms that suppress the synthesis of the extracellular polymeric matrix, inhibit quorum-sensing signaling, and alter the microbial cell membrane. The effects are stronger the greater the length of the alkyl chain. Moreover, the alkyl gallates' preventive activity against biofilm formation occurs at doses below the minimum inhibitory concentration. More importantly, combining alkyl gallates with antimicrobials or blue-light irradiation produces a synergistic effect on the inhibition of biofilm formation that can be used to treat infections and overcome microbial resistance.

Efficacy of Antiseptic Solutions in Treatment of Staphylococcus Aureus Infected Surgical Wounds with Patches of Vascular Graft: An Experimental Study in Rats.

Background and objectives: Treatment of a prosthetic vascular graft infection (PVGI) remains a challenging problem in vascular surgery. The aim of this study was to design a novel rat model for treatment of peripheral vascular prosthesis infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and to determine the efficacy of different antiseptic solutions in suppressing or eradicating infection from the wound and the graft material itself. Materials and methods: A piece of Dacron vascular prosthesis was surgically implanted at the dorsum of 48 Wistar rats and the wounds were infected with 5 McFarland standard inoculum of S. aureus. Suppurating wounds were daily irrigated with different antiseptic solutions: octenidine dihydrochloride, povidone-iodine, chlorhexidine digluconate, and sterile saline. The antimicrobial action of antiseptics was defined according to their capability to eradicate bacteria from the graft surroundings and bacteriological examination of the graft itself. Extended studies on wound microbiology, cytology, and histopathology were performed with an additional group of 10 rats, treated with the most effective antiseptic-octenidine dihydrochloride. Results: Four-day treatment course with octenidine, povidone-iodine, and chlorhexidine resulted in 99.98% (p = 0.0005), 90.73% (p = 0.002), and 65.97% (p = 0.004) decrease in S. aureus colonies in wound washouts, respectively. The number of S. aureus colonies increased insignificantly by 19.72% (p = 0.765) in control group. Seven-day treatment course with octenidine eradicated viable bacteria from nine out of 10 wound washouts and sterilized one vascular graft. Conclusions: A reproducible rat model of PVGI with a thriving S. aureus infection was designed. It is a first PVGI animal model where different antiseptic solutions were applied as daily irrigations to treat peripheral PVGI. Seven-day treatment with octenidine eradicated bacteria from the wound washouts for 90% of rats and one vascular graft. Further studies are needed to investigate if irrigations with octenidine could properly cure vascular bed from infection to assure a successful implantation of a new synthetic vascular substitute.

New in vitro model evaluating antiseptics' efficacy in biofilm-associated Staphylococcus aureus prosthetic vascular graft infection.

PURPOSE: To develop a new in vitro model of prosthetic vascular graft infection (PVGI) and evaluate antimicrobial and biofilm-disrupting efficacy of 0.1% octenidine dihydrochloride, 10% povidone-iodine and 0.02% chlorhexidine digluconate against biofilm-producing Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). METHODOLOGY: The effect of antiseptics on the microscopic integrity and antimicrobial effect on S. aureus biofilms was tested by growing biofilms on glass coverslips, in the modified Lubbock chronic wound pathogenic biofilm (LCWPB) model and on the surface of vascular grafts using qualitive and quantitative methods as well as by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). RESULTS: Chlorhexidine worked best on destroying the integrity of S. aureus biofilms (P=0.002). In the LCWPB model, octenidine and povidone-iodine eradicated all S. aureus colonies (from 1.79 × 109 c.f.u. ml-1 to 0). In the newly developed PVGI model, the grafts were successfully colonized with biofilms as seen in SEM images. All antiseptics demonstrated significant antimicrobial efficacy, decreasing colony counts by seven orders of magnitude (P=0.002). Octenidine was superior to povidone-iodine (P=0.009) and chlorhexidine (P=0.041). CONCLUSION: We implemented an innovative in vitro model on S. aureus biofilms grown in different settings, including a clinically challenging situation of PVGI. The strongest antimicrobial activity against S. aureus biofilms, grown on prosthetic vascular grafts, was showed by 0.1% octenidine dihydrochloride. We suggest that combinational therapy of antiseptics between chlorhexidine with either povidone-iodine or octenidine dihydrochloride should be tested in further experiments. Despite the need of further studies, our findings of these in vitro experiments will assist the management of vascular graft infection in clinical cases.

Inhibitory capacity of Rhus coriaria L. extract and its major component methyl gallate on Streptococcus mutans biofilm formation by optical profilometry: Potential applications for oral health.

Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) bacterium is the most well recognized pathogen involved in pathogenesis of dental caries. Its virulence arises from its ability to produce a biofilm and acidogenicity, causing tooth decay. Discovery of natural products capable to inhibit biofilm formation is of high importance for developing health care products. To the best of our knowledge, in all previous scientific reports, a colorimetric assay was applied to test the effect of sumac and methyl gallate (MG) on S. mutans adherence. Quantitative assessment of the developed biofilm should be further performed by applying an optical profilometry assay, and by testing the effect on both surface roughness and thickness parameters of the biofilm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the effect of sumac extract and its constituent MG on biofilm formation using an optical profilometry assay. Testing antibacterial activity of the sumac extract and its fractions revealed that MG is the most bioactive component against S. mutans bacteria. It reduced S. mutans biofilm biomass on the polystyrene surface by 68­93%, whereas 1 mg/ml MG was able to decrease the biofilm roughness and thickness on the glass surface by 99%. MG also prevented a decrease in pH level by 97%. These bioactivities of MG occurred in a dose­dependent manner and were significant vs. untreated bacteria. The findings are important for the development of novel pharmaceuticals and formulations of natural products and extracts that possess anti­biofilm activities with primary applications for oral health, and in a broader context, for the treatment of various bacterial infections.