Antimicrobial efficacy of two commercial RGP contact lens care systems

We compared the antimicrobial activities of two rigid gas permeable (RGP) lens care systems, a one-step wetting and soaking system (0.005% chlorhexidine gluconate, 0.02% EDTA) and a conditioning solution (0.006% chlorhexidine gluconate, 0.05% EDTA). The formulations were individually inoculated with approximately 10(6) CFU/mL of a pathogenic organism. Both the one-step wetting and soaking system and the conditioning solution demonstrated good antimicrobial efficacy against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Serratia marcescens, and Aspergillus fumigatus. However, the one-step wetting and soaking system provides better disinfection against Candida albicans (1.2 log reduction in 4 hours) than the conditioning solution (0.39 log reduction in 4 hours). The one-step system also reduced S. marcescens by 5 logs in 1 hour, whereas the conditioning solution reduced S. marcescens by about 2 logs only in the same time interval. Although both RGP lens care systems use the same active preservative (chlorhexidine digluconate), the variation in disinfecting activities may be attributed to differences in formulation and buffer systems.