SEM imaging identified small colonies of rod-shaped bacilli adherent to surface of prosthesis
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 5, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Bacterial biofilms are associated with ocular prostheses, according to a letter to the editor published in the August issue of Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology.
Michelle T. Sun, M.B.B.S., from the South Australian Institute of Ophthalmology in Adelaide, and colleagues examined biofilm growth on ocular prostheses. The authors obtained a long-term ocular prosthesis from a patient undergoing a routine prosthesis change. The prosthesis had been in use for more than 10 years, and the patient did not report discomfort or ocular irritation. The prosthesis was imaged using scanning electron microscopy (SEM); an unused ocular prostheses was also imaged.
The researchers identified biofilm growth on SEM imaging, with small colonies of rod-shaped bacilli adherent to the surface of the prosthesis.
“Although the presence of biofilm growth has been demonstrated on multiple ocular implants and foreign bodies, our study represents the first, to the best of our knowledge, to identify biofilm growth on the surface of ocular prostheses,” the authors write. “Ongoing studies involving culture and identification, as well as heat treatment of prostheses with biofilm, are required to further develop the findings of this study.”
Adelaide Microscopy facilitated the SEM studies.
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