Abstract

To determine the rate of contamination of microsurgical knives during cataract surgery and the benefit of a 3-day versus a 1-hour preoperative application of topical ofloxacin in reducing the contamination rate.Prospective, randomized controlled trial.Seventy-eight eyes of 75 patients were randomly assigned to control (39 eyes) or study groups (39 eyes).All patients from both groups received 0.3% topical ofloxacin 1 hour before surgery, 5% povidone-iodine (PVI) scrub of the periorbital area, and 2 drops of PVI onto the ocular surface preoperatively. The patients in the study group also received ofloxacin 4 times a day for 3 days before surgery.Microsurgical knives were placed in blood culture broth media immediately after the incision had been made. The number of positive cultures and types of bacteria isolated were determined.Ten of 39 knives (26%) in the control group were found to be positive for bacterial growth compared with only 2 of 39 (5%) in the study group (P = 0.028).The initial paracentesis incision frequently results in contamination of the microsurgical knife and may serve as a mechanism for introducing bacteria from the ocular surface into the anterior chamber. The application of topical ofloxacin for 3 days before surgery significantly reduces the contamination rate of the microsurgical knives, compared with a preoperative application of ofloxacin given 1 hour before surgery.

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