Effect of frequent-replacement contact lenses on normal conjunctival flora.

Purpose. To evaluate the effect of frequent-replacement contact lenses (FRCL) on the normal conjunctival flora. Methods. This study included 30 patients using FRCL for refractive errors only and 32 age-matched, healthy controls. All patients replaced their lenses every 3 to 4 weeks. The samples were taken from the lower fornix with a culture swab and incubated in blood agar. Results. Staphylococcus epidermidis was the predominant organism found in the conjunctival samples in the two groups. In the FRCL group, 9 (30%) S. epidermidis, 3 (10%) Acinetobacter lwoffii, and 2 (6.7%) Moraxella spp. were isolated from the conjunctival samples. In the control group, 7 (23.3%) S. epidermidis and 2 (6.7%) A. lwoffii were isolated from the conjunctival samples. There was no statistically significant difference between two groups (P > .05). Conclusion. Our results show that the normal conjunctival flora was not changed by the FRCL, but there was a nonsignificant increase in the bacterial population.