Importance of Lid Hygiene Before Ocular Surgery: Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Eyelid and Conjunctiva Microbiota

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a cleansing eyelid wipe in reducing the microbiota present on the ocular surface before cataract surgery. Methods: A single-center, prospective, single-blind phase IV study was conducted at the University Complutense of Madrid. Forty-five adult patients who were scheduled for ocular surgery after treatment with commercially available eyelid wipes were consecutively enrolled. The study lasted 5 days and the patients were examined at day 0 (D0), day 3 (D3), and day 5 (D5). They received instructions to apply the eyelid wipe only to the eye subject to surgery, using the other eye as a control with no treatment. Lid and conjunctival swabs were taken on each day and microbes identified. Ocular surface microbiota was estimated by measuring the area of the agar plate occupied by the grown colonies with respect to the total available area. Results: Measurements at D3 and D5 showed a percent reduction of 58% and 63%, respectively, in the microbial load on the eyelid in the treated eyes (P=0.0011). There was also a reduction, although nonsignificant, in the microbiota of the conjunctiva of 72% and 69% on D3 and D5, respectively. Conclusions: The degree of microbiota reduction was comparable with that obtained after topical application of antibiotics in other studies. The results suggest the use of these eyelid wipes as a complementary prophylactic method before any ocular surgery

Headache for ophthalmologists: current advances in headache understanding and management.

Patients with headache and head pain are often referred to ophthalmologists. These symptoms can either be associated with underlying ophthalmic conditions, or more often are headache disorders unrelated to the eyes. Understanding the phenotype of the headache is critical for advice, safe discharge or onward referral. This review will provide an update on the criteria for common headache disorders that are often seen by ophthalmology and embrace disorders associated with ophthalmic diseases. It will also describe the changing management of migraine and outline recent therapies that are currently available

Management Strategies to Reduce Risk of Postoperative Infections

Postoperative infections, although rare, are still of great concern to the ophthalmologist. The incidence of post-cataract endophthalmitis is low, with a range of .28 per 1,000 to 2.99 per 1000. In addition to intraoperative considerations such as poor wound construction, vitreous loss, topical anesthesia, and prolonged surgical time, other risk factors include preoperative factors such as a diseased ocular surface and systemic immunosuppression. Potential methods of reducing risk of endophthalmitis after anterior segment surgery are discussed and available literature is summarized