Objective:

Determine the presence of anterior chamber bacterial contamination during

cataract surgery.

Methods:

A cross-sectional case-series study was conducted of patients undergoing cataract surgery at the Ocular Microsurgery Service of Ramón Pando Ferrer Cuban Institute of Ophthalmology from January 2015 to December 2016. Personal ocular and systemic pathological antecedents, associated risk factors and perioperative complications, were related to the presence of anterior chamber bacterial contamination at the end of surgery. Patients were randomly selected in the operating room. The sample was composed of 200 patients, who were divided into three groups according to the surgeons' experience.

Results:

At the start of the surgical procedure, 100 % of the cultures were negative, whereas at the end 3 % bacterial growth was detected. Gram-positive germs were the most common (66.6 %), with Staphylococcus epidermidis isolated in 50 % of the cases. No significant relationship was found between personal ocular or systemic pathological antecedents and associated risk factors. Posterior capsule rupture was the most frequent intraoperative complication, with 4.7 % bacterial growth detected.

Conclusion:

Low frequency of anterior chamber contamination was detected at the end of cataract surgery, and the germs commonly found are related to the ocular surface microbiota.

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