Study of the Effectiveness of Multipurpose Solutions on the Bacterial Disinfection of Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lenses In Vitro.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the antimicrobial effectiveness of multipurpose solutions in regard to the disinfection of silicone hydrogel contact lenses (CL) using a study of clinical bacterial isolates from ocular material.

METHODS

Three multipurpose solutions (solution A: polyhexamethylene biguanide 0.00025 g/100 mL; solution B: polyquaternary-1 0.001% and myristamidopropyl dimethylamine 0.0006%; and solution C: polyaminopropyl biguanide 0.00013% and polyquaternary 0.0001%) were used as a 3-phase disinfection on silicone hydrogel CL contaminated with bacteria from clinical isolates that were divided into five groups (group 1: Pseudomonas aeruginosa; group 2: Staphylococcus aureus; group 3: Staphylococcus epidermidis; group 4: Streptococcus spp; and group 5: enterobacteria).

RESULTS

No differences were observed between the 24- and 48-hr measurements in any of the samples, and the positivity of microorganisms in T0 was 100% for all solutions; it was 0% in T3. Therefore, only steps T1 (rubbing followed by rinsing) and T2 (rubbing followed by rinsing and immersion of CL into solution) were considered for analysis at the 24-hr measurement time. Throughout the phases, a decrease in the number of bacteria was observed, culminating in the elimination (no recovery) of all microorganisms in the three solutions.

CONCLUSIONS

At the end of the proposed process, the tested solutions were effective.