Composition and antibiotic resistance of the conjunctival microbiota in children under 1 year of age

Abstract

In modern literature, there is insufficient information on the composition of the conjunctival microbiota in children under 1 year of age, and information on its composition in premature infants is virtually absent. Analysis of conjunctival microbiota in children under 1 year of age is important for identifying the main pathogens of inflammatory eye diseases in order to select the optimal and adequate antibacterial drug for use in ophthalmopediatric practice. This review analyzes 10 publications that analyze the species composition of the conjunctival microbiota and its sensitivity to antibiotics in children under 1 year of age. The most frequently isolated microorganisms in the conjunctival cavity were coagulase-negative staphylococci – from 25.8% to 75% in different studies in the group without inflammation and from 16.4% to 59.7% in the group with inflammatory eye pathology. Staphylococcus aureus was detected in 10–13.6% of cases in the group without clinical inflammation and in 13.2–38.3% in the group with inflammation. Gramnegative bacteria were largely represented by representatives of the order Enterobacterales. In the group of children with inflammation, in contrast to the group of children without inflammation, microorganisms with a higher pathogenic potential were identified, such as H. influenzae biogroup aegyptius, C. trachomatis, P. aeruginosa, M. catarrhalis and S. pneumoniae. High resistance level of the total microbiota was found to tobramycin, erythromycin, tetracycline and chloramphenicol, and relatively low resistance to respiratory fluoroquinolones.