title: Effect of hemodialysis duration on conjunctival bacterial flora and susceptibility of conjunctival bacterial isolates to fluoroquinolones.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the differences between conjunctival bacterial flora of hemodialysis patients and healthy subjects, the effect of duration of hemodialysis on conjunctival bacterial flora, and in vitro antibiotic susceptibility patterns of conjunctival bacterial flora to fluoroquinolones.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty healthy subjects (32 male, 28 female) and 60 hemodialysis patients (33 male, 27 female) who had renal failure due to reasons other than diabetic nephropathy and with no previous history of intraocular surgery participated in this study. Statistical analysis of the difference between the culture positivity of hemodialysis patients and a control group was determined using the chi-square test. Pearson's correlation test was used to quantify the correlations among culture positivity and duration of hemodialysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Conjunctival culture positivity of the hemodialysis patients and the control group was 58.3 and 45.0%, respectively, and there was no statistically significant difference between these groups (p = 0.144). Pearson's correlation test revealed that there was a weak but statistically significant positive correlation between culture positivity and duration of hemodialysis (r value was 0.378 [p = 0.003]). Staphylococcus aureus (28.3%) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (20.0%) were the most frequently isolated organisms in the hemodialysis patients, Staphylococcus epidermidis (26.7%) and Staphylococcus aureus (6.7%) were the most frequently isolated organisms in the control group. Resistance of most frequently isolated organisms (Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis) from control group and hemodialysis patients to ofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, and gatifloxacin were 20, 15, 5, and 5%, and 34.5, 20.7, 6.9, and 6.9%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As distinct from the control group, S. aureus colonization was isolated more from the hemodialysis patients. Culture positivity of the hemodialysis patients was positively correlated with the duration of hemodialysis. Antibiotic susceptibility of isolates from conjunctival bacterial flora of hemodialysis patients were less than healthy control group.
authors.affiliation: Malatya EGM Hayat Hospital, Ophthalmology Clinic, Malatya, Turkiye. mbalbaba@yahoo.co.uk
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Balbaba
authors.forename: Fatih
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ulaş
authors.forename: Sibel Altunışık
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Toplu
mesh_terms: D003228:Conjunctiva / Q000382:microbiology*; D003234:Conjunctivitis, Bacterial / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D024841:Fluoroquinolones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D024841:Fluoroquinolones