In vitro susceptibility of microorganisms isolated from cold stored corneas: increased gentamicin-resistance in cornea banking.

Abstract

Donor cornea contamination is one of the major risks for corneal transplants. The use of antibiotics in storage media remains as one of the most important security measurements to minimize the contamination risk in corneal preservation. Since antibiotic resistance among microorganisms have been rising gradually, it is important to gain knowledge about the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern for choosing the most suitable antimicrobial agents. Thus, we evaluated the in vitro susceptibility of microorganisms isolated in donor corneas processed at the Center for Blood Transfusion, Tissues and Cells (Córdoba, Spain) during 4years in order to evaluate the efficiency, and to promote changes for further antibiotics use. Our results show the high rate of resistance to gentamicin, an antibiotic used in corneal preservation media such as Optisol GS and Eusol-C. Conversely, all the analyzed microorganisms were sensitive to vancomycin. This suggests the possibility of replacing gentamicin with another more effective antibacterial agent such as vancomycin.