Abstract
Purpose: :
To investigate microbiological contamination of donor cornea and incidence of post-operative infections after corneal transplantation.
Methods: :
We retrospectively analyzed the microbiological contamination and post-operative infections in a total of 746 donor corneas used for corneal transplantations at Keio University Hospital from April 2004 to November 2010. Donor corneas were routinely cultured in blood agar, MacConkey agar, and Sabouraud agar.
Results: :
Seventy nine (10.6%) out of 746 donors were proven positive for microorganism by microbiological culture examinations. The contamination rate of cryo-preserved donor corneas (26.7%) was significantly higher than that of fresh corneas (9.6%)(p<0.001). The most common isolates were Staphylococcus species (38.6%), Propionibacterium species (22.7%), Streptococcus species (6.8%), and Candida species (6.8%). Three cases (3.8%) in culture-positive donor tissues developed infectious keratitis, and 1 case (1.3%) endophthalmitis.
Conclusions: :
Microbiological contamination of donor cornea may lead to serious post-operative complication such as endophthalmitis. We should consider the optimum preservation method to prevent contamination.
Keywords: transplantation