Ocular surface flora in drowning victims

Contaminated allograft donor tissue represents a potential source of infection unique to keratoplasty. We prospectively studied perilimbal cultures of drowning victims over 30 months to determine if the ocular surface flora of drowning victims was unique. Twenty-eight donor eyes were cultured from 14 drowning victims. Ninety-three percent of limbal cultures were positive for one or more organisms, compared to results of a previous study of surface contamination of donor globes in which 65% were found to be culture positive. Fifty-seven percent (16 of 28) of donor eyes grew at least one streptococcal species, while 46% (13 of 28) grew two or more streptococcal species. A previous study identified streptococcal species in 7.9% of perilimbal cultures from nondrowning donor eyes, which demonstrates the unique effect of drowning on the ocular flora. The incidence of gram-negative isolates was also markedly higher in drowning victims, compared to previous studies of donor globes. This prospective study has shown that the ocular surface flora of drowning victims harbors markedly increased numbers of streptococcal species as well as gram-negative organisms. These findings demand careful globe decontamination, and emphasize the need for appropriate antibiotic coverage in corneal storage media.