ATTACHMENT OF PSEUDOMONAS TO HUMAN-WORN, DISPOSABLE ETAFILCON-A CONTACT-LENSES

After 7 days of continuous wear, Acuvue (Vistakon, Jacksonville, FL, U.S.A.; etafilcon A) lenses were soaked in a Pseudomonas aeruginosa suspension (1.4 x 10(8) cfu/ml). New Acuvue lenses served as controls. A single strain of P aeruginosa harvested from a human corneal ulcer was used throughout the experiment. Lenses were examined by culture and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We found significantly greater (p < 0.05) bacterial attachment to new Acuvue lenses [culture, 3.1 x 10(4) (+/- 0.82 x 10(4)) cfu/mm2; SEM, 2.6 x 10(4) (+/- 0.47 x 10(4)) bacteria/mm2] compared with those previously worn [culture, 1.0 x 10(4) (+/- 0.17 x 10(4)) cfu/mm2; SEM, 0.73 x 10(4) (+/- 0.21 x 10(4)) bacteria/mm2]. No statistical difference was found among the individuals. Our findings demonstrate that the biological coating resulting from 1 week of continuous contact lens wear restricts P. aeruginosa attachment to the Acuvue lens when comparing new and used lenses.