Prescribing prophylactic antibiotics to users of therapeutic contact lenses.

BACKGROUND To describe the benefits and optimum use of prophylactic antibiotics in users of therapeutic contact lenses (TCL). METHODS A microbiological study was carried out on samples from 33 patients who continuously wore TCL. The resistance to antibiotics of bacteria isolated in our health region was also reviewed. An assessment was also made on whether there were microorganisms of a higher pathogenic potential in TCL than conventional contact lenses, as reported in the literature. RESULTS No bacteria were isolated from 17 (52%) of the 33 lenses studied. From the 16 (48%) remaining lenses, coagulase negative Staphylococci were isolated from 10 (62%), Propionibacterium acnes from 4 (25%), and Corynebacterium from 2 (13%). CONCLUSIONS The high number of negative cultures and the presence of saprophytic bacteria indicate that prophylactic antibiotic treatment is not precise. The most frequent pathogenic bacteria found in contact lenses are strongly resistant to the current commercially available antibiotics.