title: Effect of frequent-replacement contact lenses on normal conjunctival flora.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effect of frequent-replacement contact lenses (FRCL) on the normal conjunctival flora.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study included 30 patients using FRCL for refractive errors only and 32 age-matched, healthy controls. All patients replaced their lenses every 3 to 4 weeks. The samples were taken from the lower fornix with a culture swab and incubated in blood agar.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Staphylococcus epidermidis was the predominant organism found in the conjunctival samples in the two groups. In the FRCL group, 9 (30%) S. epidermidis, 3 (10%) Acinetobacter Iwoffii, and 2 (6.7%) Moraxella spp. were isolated from the conjunctival samples. In the control group, 7 (23.3%) S. epidermidis and 2 (6.7%) A. lwoffii were isolated from the conjunctival samples. There was no statistically significant difference between two groups (P > .05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results show that the normal conjunctival flora was not changed by the FRCL, but there was a nonsignificant increase in the bacterial population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Cumhuriyet University Faculty of Medicine, Sivas, Turkey.
authors.forename: Haydar
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Erdoğan
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kemal
authors.forename: M Ilker
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Toker
authors.forename: Ayşen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Topalkara
authors.forename: Zahir
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Bakici
mesh_terms: D000150:Acinetobacter / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000328:Adult; D003228:Conjunctiva / Q000382:microbiology*; D003261:Contact Lenses; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009016:Moraxella / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013212:Staphylococcus epidermidis / Q000302:isolation & purification