Care practices of contact lens solutions and microbial contamination among wearers in Ghana.

Purpose: This study sought to assess contact lens solutions care practices, and their microbial contamination among contact lens wearers in Ghana and to profile their antibiotic susceptibility pattern.
Methods: The study employed a biphasic approach which involved a cross-sectional design that investigated participants' habits related to care for the solutions with a two-part questionnaire and a microbiological analysis of samples of contact lens care solutions of the participants for microbial contamination. A snowball sampling method provided access to 32 different contact lens wearers in four care facilities in Ghana. In most cases, the participants had no pre-existing familial relationship with each other or with the care facilities.
Results: Out of 32 samples of contact lens solutions, 30 were tested for microbial contamination. A total of 23 (76.67 %) samples of contact lens solution were found to be contaminated with Enterobacter sp. (34.80 %), Pseudomonas sp. (21.70 %), Bacilli sp. (21.70 %), Klebsiella sp. (17.20 %), and Escherichia coli (4.60 %). The duration of solution storage in the open bottle and nonadherence to manufacturer instructions for solution storage showed a statistically significant association with microbial contamination (p ≤ 0.05).
Conclusion: Contact lens care solutions have been found to harbour multiple antibiotic-resistant bacteria that are potentially pathogenic to the corneal surface. The contamination is associated with some unhealthy solution-care practices among wearers.
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