OCULAR MICROBIAL POPULATION AS A 2-1 BETAMETHASONE DISSODIC FOSPHATE AND DISSODIC FOSPHATE/ACETATE DEXAMETHASONE MONITOR IN SWINE CORNEA TRANSPLANTED DOGS

Abstract

Ten mixed breed dogs, with a 10 kg average weight, were selected at Centro de Zoonoses de Goiânia. After being examined and considered healthy, the dogs were enumerated from 11 to 20 on their collars. Each animal had swine cornea implanted into the left eye. The swine cornea was obtained at Casa de Banha Caçula, a slaughterhouse, and conserved in a humid chamber during a maximum 6 hour period. Before surgery, each animal received 4 mg dissodic fosphate/acetate of dexamethasone IM and one drop of betamethasone dissodic fosphate and gentamycin sulphate. This medication was kept until euthanasia. Each dog had a superior fornix sample collected, the sample was immersed in 0.1% peptonized water, so that tests for aerobic bacteria and fungus could be realized. Each test was repeated with samples collected on days 7, 14, 21 and 28, after graft, and compared with those from day 0. The 12.8% Staphylococcus epidermidis on initial samples was caused by contamination during collection because it wasn’t found on the 28th day samples. This fact suggests that, although corticosteroids had caused systemic imunocellular supression, they didn’t make easier the bacterial development into the grafted eye.

KEY-WORDS: Microbial population; corticosteroids; xenotranplants; cornea; canine; swine.