Pseudomonas Cepacia (PC) Contamination of a Cornea Conservated in Organ Culture

 

 Buy Article Permissions and Reprints

Background

In Switzerland three Eye Banks are operational for tissue banking. The Jules-Gonin Eye Hospital Eye Bank is one of the main of them and is able to provide each year about 120 corneal grafts for human therapy. The storage method used is organ culture at + 31 °C. In the medium, detection for bacterial contamination is available by change of color. The contamination rate of corneoscleral rims after penetrating keratoplasty is about 0.53 to 0.7 % [1] [4].

To our knowledge, this is the first description of a corneal button contaminated by Pseudomonas Cepacia and grafted on a recipient for human therapy. We describe the clinical features, the method used to identify the infection, the treatment and the procedure that was adapted to prevent a recurrence.

References

• 1 Borderie V M, Laroche L. Microbiologic study of organ-cultured donor corneas.  Transplantation. 1998;  66 120-123
  Google Scholar
• 2 Builles N, Perraud M, Reverdy M E. et al . Reducing contamination when removing and storing corneas: A multidisciplinary, transversal, and environmental approach.  Cornea. 2006;  25 (2) 185-192
  Google Scholar
• 3 Del Piero E, Pennett M, Leopold I. Pseudomonas cepacia endophtalmitis.  Ann Ophthalmol. 1985;  17 753-756
  Google Scholar
• 4 Hagenah M, Bohnke M, Engelmann K. et al . Incidence of bacterial and fungal contamination of donor corneas preserved by organ culture.  Cornea. 1995;  14 423-426
  Google Scholar
• 5 Kaiwatcharachai C, Silpapojakul K, Jitsurong S. et al . An outbreak of Bulkhoderia cepacia bacteremia in hemodialysis patients: an epidemiologic and molecular study.  Am J Kidney Dis. 2000;  36 199-204
  Google Scholar
• 6 Lennete E H, Balows A, Hausler W J. Aerobic bacteria: In manual of clinical microbiology. American society for microbiology Washington, D.C; 1985 4th ed: 362
  Google Scholar
• 7 Levy J H, Katz H R. Pseudomonas cepacia keratitis.  Cornea. 1989;  8 (1) 67-71
  Google Scholar
• 8 Morel P, Roubi N, Talon D R. et al . Bacterial contamination of a a Cornea Tissue bank: implications for the Safety of the Graft Engineering.  Cornea. 2003;  22 (3) 221-225
  Google Scholar
• 9 Snell G I, De Hoyos A, Krajden M. et al . Pseudomonas cepacia in lung transplant recipients with cystic fibrosis.  Chest. 1993;  103 466-471
  Google Scholar
• 10 Spencer R C. The emergence of epidemic, multiple-antibiotic-resistant Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Burkholderia cepacia.  J Hosp Infect. 1995;  30 (Suppl) 453-464
  Google Scholar

François Majo, MD PhD

Head of: Medical and Surgical Cornea, Refractive Surgery and Eye banking, Hôpital Ophtalmique Jules-Gonin

Avenue de France 15

1004 Lausanne

Switzerland

Email: fmajo@bluewin.ch