Cataract extraction / by H. Herbert.

  • Herbert, H.
Date:
1908
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Cataract extraction / by H. Herbert. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by UCL Library Services. The original may be consulted at UCL (University College London)

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    there were few or no bacteria except diptheroid bacilli (possibly all xerosis bacilli) before or after the sublimate douching. In all the remaining cases other organisms were fairly plentiful or decidedly numerous. They comprised white staphylococci alone in five cases. Most of the other conjunctivae contained more than one variety of organism in addition to the sapro- phytic diphtheroids. Besides white cocci, some of them possibly pathogenic, coloured cocci were fairly numerous, including Staphylococcus anveiis and citreus, and others unidentified, and probably in some cases incompletely separated. Morax- Axenfeld diplo-bacilli were found in five cases, and they were numerous in two of the five. Numerous pneumococci were found once,** and numerous streptococci once. In four of these twenty-six cases the effect of the perchloride douching appeared to be insufficient, several colonies being grown from each conjunctiva afterwards. But in the remainder the effect of the treatment was definite, and possibly sufficient. Either no growth was obtained afterwards or only very few colonies— a single colony in nine instances, two colonies in three cases, and four colonies once. These results were obtained ten minutes after the perchloride douching—i.e., immediately after the cocain instillation. They do not include, therefore, the further effect which would be derived from the supplementary small douching nearly always added immediately before operating. If the result had been tested after operation, a more complete clearance of organisms could have been anticipated. It is worthy of mention that, though hundreds of colonies of diphtheroid bacilli were grown from some conjunctivae before irrigation, not a single one was obtained after irrigation. Diplo-bacilli seem also easy of removal ; no growth was obtained from the treated conjunctivae. Staphylococci, on the other hand, in general proved more resistant, and this was the case whether they were present in large or small numbers. This resistance suggests frequent embedding of the cocci rather deeply in the conjunctival epithelium. In several cases a delay of a day or two was noted in the appearance of the colonies grown from the conjunctivae after treatment, suggest- ing some direct action of the antiseptic upon the bacteria. In a conjunctiva normal except for slight injection and roughness.