[Risk of bacterial contamination after povidone-iodine disinfection for cataract surgery].
BACKGROUND
Povidone-iodine alone or in combination with antibiotics is commonly used for presurgical disinfection in cataract surgery. In spite of the use of the combination Povidone-iodine and ofloxacin, the rate of ocular contamination as assessed from surgical knives was reported to be as high as 26 %. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of diluted Povidone-iodine alone for surgical disinfection.


METHODS
126 consecutive patients undergoing elective cataract surgery with a conjunctival wound and a scleral tunnel received prior to surgery a disinfection with diluted Povidone-iodine eye drops (Braunol 1:10 diluted = 0.8 % Povidone-iodine, 3 times every 5 min). To assess residual bacteria on the ocular surface after disinfection, the surgical knives for the side ports and the scleral tunnel were cultured in thioglycolate broth.


RESULTS
In 8 out of 126 (6 %) patients the culture from the surgical knives revealed a positive result (89 % coagulase negative Staphylococci). Four of these 8 cases occurred during a single list. All control cultures remained negative.


CONCLUSIONS
Diluted Povidone-iodine eye drops alone are highly effective for bacterial disinfection when applied properly. The rate of contamination using 0.8 % Povidone-iodine in our series was considerably lower as compared to that of other studies.
Yanar
A
A
Universitäts-Augenklinik Zürich, Zürich. Ahmet.Yanar@usz.ch
Zbinden
R
R
de Melo
M
M
Trick
A J
AJ
Kovacs
R
R
Thiel
M A
MA
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002387:Cataract Extraction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011206:Povidone-Iodine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local; D011206:Povidone-Iodine