Microbial Contamination of Eye Drops in out Patient in Iraq

Acontaminated ophthalmic solutions represent a potential cause of avoidable ocular infection. This study aimed to determine the magnitude and pattern of microbial contamination of eye drops in out patient at the department of ophthalmology, at Baghdad national hospital, Iraq. Fifty four vials from the out patient clinic were obtained for microbial examination after an average use of 2 weeks. The dropper tip and the residual eye drop were examined for contamination. The specimens were cultured, the number of colonies counted, the organisms identified. Eight (15%)  out of 54 analyzed vials were contaminated , most bacteria identified belonged to the normal commensal flora of the eye. Isolated contaminants were Staphylococcus auereus, Micrococcus , Neisseria catarrhalis, Gram negative Rods, Candida albicans, and Staph epidermidus.The dropper tip was more often contaminated (n=5) than the residual solution (n=2) and only one vial showed acontamination of both the drop and the tip (n=1) . Our data show acontamination rate of 15%, which is in the medium range of data puplished on the contamination of eye drops elsewhere (0.07% to 35.8%). Key words : Microbial Contamination, Eye Drop

Volume • 5 • Number • 2 • 2012 Page 73 SORPTION OF NANOFILLED VERSUS OTHER CONVENTIONAL COMPOSITES

Abstract Since composite water sorption can result in expansion of the restoration, which would be detrimental to the restoration, it is important to limit the amount of water absorbed. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare water sorption values of various composite materials. Seven commercial light-activated composite materials: Tetric Evo Ceram (Ivoclar, Vivadent, Schaan/Liechtenstein, Austria), Premise (Kerr, Orange, CA USA), Herculite (Kerr), Z100 (3M-ESPE, St. Paul, MN, USA), Z250 (3M-ESPE), P60 (3M-ESPE) and SupremeXT (3M-ESPE). Ten disc specimens were prepared for each composite material using a stainless steel mold with 15 mm in inner diameter and 1 mm in thickness. The curing of each composite specimen was divided into 5 segments and each segment was photo-cures for 40 seconds. Water sorption of different materials was calculated by means of weighting the samples before and after water immersion (15 days) and desiccation. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA at 5% level of significance. Tetric Evo Ceram composite showed the lowest water sorption values followed by Herculite, P60, supreme XT, Z100, Z250 and Premise which exhibited the highest values. All the composites being tested in this study exhibited sorption values within the acceptable limits and composite composition significantly influenced its water sorption value