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Lysozyme in tears during post‐operative inflammation of the eye
Author(s) -
Sand B. B.,
Jensen O. L.,
Eriksen J. S.,
Vinding T.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.1986.tb06962.x
Subject(s) - tears , lysozyme , ophthalmology , medicine , inflammation , surgery , chemistry , biochemistry
Abstract Lysozyme (ly) concentration in tears was measured the day before and the days following intracapsular cataract extraction in 25 patients. A median ly concentration of 1.30 mg/ml was found pre‐operatively. On the first post‐operative day a significant drop in the median ly concentration was observed (0.58 mg/ml). Thereafter a gradual rise towards pre‐operative level was found at the 12th post‐operative day. An inverse correlation existed between ly concentrations and Schirmer values during the observation period, and dilution thus seems to be an important cause of the post‐operative drop in ly concentration. We observed an inverse relationship between ly level, and the number (%) of patients displaying bacterial colonization of the conjunctival sac 24 h later. The most frequently isolated bacteria were staphylococcus albus and diphteroids. It is proposed that the drop in ly concentration post‐operatively may contribute to an increased risk of bacterial colonization of the eye post‐operatively.