Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Mel4 antimicrobial peptide-coated contact lenses (MACL) on the microbiota of the conjunctiva and lenses during three months of extended wear.

Methods

One hundred and seventy-six participants were recruited into a randomised, contralateral, double masked, biweekly extended wear MACL and uncoated control lens trial. At the one month and 3-month visit, the conjunctival microbiota was sampled using sterile cotton swabs and contact lenses were collected aseptically. Standard microbiological procedures were employed for culture of the swabs and contact lenses and identification of the isolated microorganisms.

Results

Gram-positive bacteria (predominantly coagulase-negative staphylococci) were the most frequently isolated microbes from both contact lenses and conjunctiva. There was no difference in the frequency of isolation of most bacteria or fungi from the conjunctival swabs of eyes wearing either MACL or control lenses. The only exception was a higher frequency of eyes harbouring Staphylococcus arlettae when wearing control lenses (5%) versus MACL (<1%) (p = 0.002). There was no significant difference in the frequency of microbes isolated from MACL or control contact lenses. There were also no differences between lens types in the frequency of isolation of >1 microbial type per sampling occasion for either conjunctiva swabs or contact lenses.

Conclusion

MACL wear did not change the conjunctival microbiota during extended wear, and the types of microbes isolated from MACL were similar to those isolated from control lenses.

中文翻译：

---

Mel4 肽涂层抗菌隐形眼镜 (MACL) 长期佩戴后的眼部微生物群和镜片污染

目的

本研究的目的是研究 Mel4 抗菌肽涂层隐形眼镜 (MACL) 在长期佩戴三个月期间对结膜和镜片微生物群的影响。

方法

176 名参与者被招募到一项随机、对侧、双蒙面、每两周延长佩戴 MACL 和无涂层对照镜片试验。在 1 个月和 3 个月就诊时，使用无菌棉签对结膜微生物群进行取样，并在无菌条件下收集隐形眼镜。标准微生物程序用于培养拭子和隐形眼镜并鉴定分离的微生物。

结果

革兰氏阳性菌（主要是凝固酶阴性葡萄球菌）是最常从隐形眼镜和结膜中分离出来的微生物。从佩戴 MACL 或对照镜片的眼睛的结膜拭子中分离出大多数细菌或真菌的频率没有差异。唯一的例外是佩戴对照镜片 (5%) 与 MACL (<1%) (p = 0.002) 相比，眼睛携带葡萄球菌的频率更高。从 MACL 或对照隐形眼镜中分离出的微生物的频率没有显着差异。对于结膜拭子或隐形眼镜，每个采样场合的 > 1 种微生物类型的分离频率在镜片类型之间也没有差异。

结论

MACL 佩戴在长时间佩戴期间不会改变结膜微生物群，从 MACL 中分离出的微生物类型与从对照镜片中分离出的微生物类型相似。