An evaluation of saline irrigation and comparison of povidone-iodine and antibiotic in the surface decontamination of donor eyes
R. W. Nash, T. D. Lindquist and R. E. Kalina
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle.
We evaluated the effect of saline irrigation on 38 pairs of donor eyes and
determined the relative efficacy of antibiotic rinse/storage
(neomycin-polymyxin B-gramicidin) and povidone-iodine immersion. Microbial
growth was found in 49 (64.5%) of 76 eyes from which cultures were taken
before irrigation, and only four (8.2%) became culture negative after
irrigation. Of 27 eyes culture negative before irrigation, 15 (55.6%)
became positive after irrigation. One eye of each pair was then assigned
randomly to antibiotic rinse/storage and the other eye to 3-minute
immersion in 1% povidone-iodine. Both antimicrobial treatments decreased
the numbers of positive cultures, with povidone-iodine showing an advantage
that did not reach significance. These results demonstrate that saline
irrigation of donor eyes in situ does not reduce surface contamination and
that povidone-iodine immersion should be considered as an alternative for
donor eye decontamination.
