Abstract
Purpose :
Chalazions are chronic lipogranulmatous inflammation of the meibomian glands. They are routinely treated in the ophthalmologist’s office however it is largely unknown what organisms colonize them. The purpose of this study was to culture chalazions using modern techniques for rapid identification.
Methods :
Samples were collected from patients undergoing routine incision and curettage for chalazion. They were collected for aerobic and anaerobic cultures in Eswab containers. Specimens were plated in aerobic conditions on Blood, Chocolate, MacConkey agar plates and anaerobic conditions on Brucella and Gentamicin Plates. Any growth was identified using MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry Speciation.
Results :
32 chalazions were sampled from 27 patients.
Seven samples (22%) were identified as Corynebacterium bovis. Two samples (6%) were identified as Propionibacterium acnes. Three samples (9%) showed growth on anaerobic media but could not be identified using mass spectrometry. Sixteen samples (63%) had no growth.
Conclusions :
Amongst the chalazion samples that showed growth, Corynebacterium bovis was the most commonly isolated organism, followed by P. acnes. Corynebacterium bovis (an organism associated with bovine mastitis) has been identified as the causative infectious organism in a number of orbital abscesses, showing that C. bovis seems to have a propensity for the eyelid and orbit.
Lipogranulomatous inflammation can be found in other instances across the body. Chronic mastitis histopathologically appears as lipogranulomatous inflammation and cases of recurrent mastitis has been associated with a number of specific species of Corynebacterium including C. kroppenstedtii, C. amycolatum, C. tuberculostearicum, C. accolens, C. striatum, and C. minutissimum.
Our preliminary results show an association between Corynebacterium bovis in chalazions. More work will be done to see if treating this organism improves recurrence rates. Our upcoming study will be using next-gen PCR sequencing to look at eyelid flora in normal patients and patients with recurrent chalazions to see if there local microbiome changes lead to the development of chalazion.
This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.