Species composition of ocular surface microbiome in patients with dry eye syndrome

Abstract

The dry eye syndrome (DES) is among the most common chronic eye diseases. However, the diagnosis of DES does not include the study of the ocular surface microbiome. Objective. To evaluate the species composition of microorganisms inhabiting the ocular surface of DES patients in the Primorsky Krai Materials and methods. The study involved 229 ophthalmological patients in the Primorsky Krai aged 18–90 years diagnosed with DES (2023–2025). Microorganisms were isolated using the standard microbiological method. The identification of isolated cultures was carried out using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (Autobio). Statistical data processing was performed in the MS Excel 2010 software. Results. Microorganisms belonging to 10 genera were identified, with the main being Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium. Bacteria belonging to the Staphylococcus genus ranked first in the structure. This group was represented by 10 species, with coagulase-negative staphylococci (88.9%) being predominant. DES was most often diagnosed in patients aged 60 to 74 years (43.11%). Conclusion. The conducted study confirmed the presence of a diverse bacterial community in DES patients in the Primorsky Krai. The microbiome is represented by a relatively small number of major genera; however, it contains a significant proportion of known pathogens, albeit in a low diagnostic titer. The results obtained suggest further research in this direction.