Two conjunctival swabs will be executed at 3 days before and at the day of routine cataract surgery in each eye of patients undergoing routine cataract surgery. After the collection of the first conjunctival swab a three-days treatment with eyedrops containing 0.6% povidone-iodine in the eye undergoing routine cataract surgery will be performed. Bacterial isolates will be identified by using standard microbiological protocols and total bacterial load will be determined at the two different time points. In vitro susceptibility testing to determine methicillin resistance in isolated Staphylococcus species will be performed. Controlateral eye of each patient will be used as control. Descriptive statistics will be calculated.
The purpose of the present study is to elucidate the qualitative and quantitative variation of ocular flora after treatment with eyedrops containing 0.6% povidone-iodine in the eye of patients undergoing routine cataract surgery.