Clinical and laboratory testing of a silver-impregnated lens case

PurposeLens case contamination is a well-documented occurrence for contact lens wearers despite the efficacy of current lens disinfectants. Several microorganisms have a propensity to attach to surfaces and may become more tolerant of disinfection upon attachment. Non-compliance with disinfection regimens occasionally occurs wherein patients store their lenses in saline or in tap water. A silver-impregnated lens case was developed in an attempt to decrease case contamination. These studies examine the performance of the case both in vitro and in vivo.MethodsIn vitro, lens cases were challenged with 103 microorganism suspensions of bacteria. After 24 h incubation at room temperature, aliquots of inocula were removed and spread plated onto appropriate growth media. Surviving colonies were counted and microorganism log drop values from initial challenge inocula were determined. Two 40-subject 1-month contralateral clinical studies were conducted with SOLO-care Aqua® solution using one bowl of a silver-impregnated case and one bowl of a standard lens case for lens storage. Lens cases were collected and cultured for aerobic bacteria.ResultsIn vitro efficacy data show significantly lower numbers of recovered microbes from silver-impregnated cases than from control cases. In both clinical studies, silver-impregnated cases had a statistically significantly lower proportion of bacterial contamination than control cases. The majority of microorganisms isolated from silver-impregnated cases were members of the normal skin flora.ConclusionThe performance of the silver-impregnated case in vitro and the observed lower proportion of contaminated silver-impregnated lens cases in a clinical setting demonstrate the case's ability to decrease bacterial contamination.