title: Ocular microbial flora in immunodeficient patients.
abstract: The eyes of 20 patients with primary immunodeficiency syndromes were examined, and microbial cultures of their lids and conjunctivae were made. Nine patients had a history of recurrent external ocular infections, and six of these had active blepharitis or blepharoconjunctivitis at the time of examination. A single pathogenic bacterium was isolated from the lids and conjunctivae of six patients with a history of infection; a mixture of two possible pathogens was cultured from eyes of three other patients. Three of the nine patients with infections had impaired B-cell and intact T-cell immunity, whereas three patients had impaired B cell and T-cell immunity. Two patients had chronic granulomatous disease in which a defect in phagocytosis was the predominant immunologic abnormality, and one patient (with mucocutaneous candidiasis) had intact B- and T-cell function at the time of testing. Although the immunodeficient patients had a higher incidence of lid or conjunctival infection than 20 age-matched controls, the microbial flora of the lids and conjunctivae did not differ between the two groups.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000917:Antibody Formation; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D001762:Blepharitis / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003228:Conjunctiva / Q000382:microbiology; D003231:Conjunctivitis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology; D005123:Eye / Q000382:microbiology*; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D005143:Eyelids / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007153:Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes / Q000150:complications*; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged