Conjunctival Flora Before and After Application of 5% Povidone-Iodine Solution

Conjunctival flora is attached with protein links to conjunctival cells. For this reason, the resident flora, Corynebacteria and Staphylococcus epidermidis are almost always present in normal conjunctives of any age, and depuration mechanism like tears, blinking or even the antibiotic do not remove it [1]. Staphylococcus epidermidis, or other coagulasa negative Staphylococcus, Corynebacteria or Propionibacterium acnes resident in normal conjunctiva and eye lids are named as frequent post-surgical endophthalmitis cause [2], pathogen bacteria as Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae are also related to acute and severe endophthalmitis, reason why it is very important to diminish the conjunctival alive bacteria previous to cataract or other ocular surgery and since 1985 Apt had proposed the use of antiseptic solutions like povidone-iodine in ocular surface. [3]. Some years later, Speaker proved in one comparative study the efficiency of antisepsis using this solution with a statistical significance less endophtalmitis as surgical risk in anterior segment ocular surgeries [4]. The use of drops of aqueous 5 % solution of povidone-iodine (polivinil pirrolidonil iodine solution) is manadatory in all ocular surgeries and its efficacy has been proved and published [5] even when not all bacteria species are diminished to 0 CFU.