TO STUDY CONJUNCTIVAL BACTERIAL AND FUNGAL FLORA IN DIABETIC AND NON- DIABETIC INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR ANTIBIOGRAM IN TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Introduction:The conjunctiva is a clear mucous membrane that borders the interior of the eye lids and protects the sclera. It consists of non-keratinized, stratified columnar epithelium with goblet cells. Normal microbial flora constitutes organisms which are present in eyelids and conjunctiva without causing any disease. The flora of the ocular surface consists more of gram positive microorganisms².Gram positive organisms, particularly coagulase negative Staphylococci, are widely recognized to be the primary inhabitants of the normal eye. At birth eyes are sterile but they are later infected by various organisms. Diabetes mellitus is a multi factorial disease that can affect all ocular structures.

Aim:To evaluate the Conjunctival bacterial and fungal flora of Non diabetic and diabetic individuals.

Material &Method:This was anCross sectional, Observational Study conducted on a total of 204 patients attending Department of Microbiology of Peoples Medical College and Hospital, Bhopal, India between February 2022 to February 2023. Conjunctival swab was collected from lower eyelid to expose the Conjunctival membrane of eyes by sterile swab sticks. to assess the conjunctival flora and antibiotic sensitivity pattern in diabetic and non-diabetic individuals without any pre-existing ocular diseases.

Result: Conjunctival flora of a total of 204 patients, 102 diabetic and 102 non diabetic, were screened. Among the 102 diabetic patients, there were 51(49.5%)male and 51(49.5%)female. The most common isolated bacteria in diabetic and non diabetic groups were staphylococcus aureus (diabetic 26.92%, Non-Diabetic 61.11%). There was a statistically significant difference in microbial flora pattern between the diabetic and non diabetic group. There was higher proportion Gram negative bacilli grown in Diabetics.

Conclusion:Present study found statistically significant difference in the microbial flora between diabetics and non diabetics. The observation of the present study and various other studies, infer that staphylococcal infections are common among both Diabetic and Non- diabetic individuals. Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae were detected in higher ratios in the conjunctival flora of diabetic patients. Candida albicans were more common among the diabetics as compared to non- diabetics.