ANTIMICROBIAL EFFECT OF CIPROFLOXACIN, POVIDONE-IODINE, AND GENTAMICIN IN THE DECONTAMINATION OF HUMAN DONOR GLOBES

Purpose. Clinical research addressing the issue of donor globe deconta mination is yet to establish convincing data for the optimal choice of an antimicrobial agent. Methods. In a donor-globe decontamination stu dy, the antimicrobial effectiveness of a fluoroquinolone antibiotic (c iprofloxacin, 0.3%) was evaluated for the first time and compared with povidone-iodine (P-I, 5%) and gentamicin (0.3%). Results. Ciprofloxac in and gentamicin were found to be less effective than P-I (p < 0.05) in converting culture-positive donor globes to culture negative. In el iminating coagulase-negative staphylococci that predominated the bacte rial spectrum, again P-I scored better than ciprofloxacin (p = 0.003) and gentamicin (p = 0.006). Overall, P-I performed better than the oth er two in the 3-min decontamination procedure. Decontamination was car ried out with the same agent for 15 min to assess the effect of durati on of decontamination on the antimicrobial activity of P-I. With time, there was no significant increase in the antimicrobial efficacy of th e agent except for Corynebacterium species. Conclusion. P-I continues to be the preferred agent for decontaminating donor globes. Whereas a contact of 3-min duration between P-I and donor globe remains satisfac tory in decontamination procedures, corneal tolerance of this procedur e needs investigation.