Anterior chamber contamination following uncomplicated cataract surgery: comparative results using intravenous imipenem.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

An attempt was made to establish the effect of an intravenous antibiotic on anterior chamber (AC) fluid contamination when administered before surgery.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A prospective study of AC contamination was conducted in 60 patients undergoing extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE)/intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. The final 20 patients received 1 g of intravenous imipenem 1 hour before surgery.

RESULTS

There were 4 positive AC cultures from the 20 patients in the imipenem group, and 13 positive AC cultures from the 40 control patients (P = .4, chi-square test). Of the 60 eyes, 17 had positive AC aspirate cultures and 23 had positive conjunctival smears. Only in one instance was the microorganism isolated from each case the same (1.7%).

CONCLUSIONS

An insignificant decrease in AC contamination was observed when intravenous imipenem was used before surgery. The results also suggest that conjunctiva might not be the main source of contamination during surgery.