Role of Coagulase-negative Staphylococci in Chronic Blepharitis

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Abstract
The eyelid margins of 100 normal volunteers and 116 patients with chronic blepharitis were cultured by a semiquantita-tivc technique using soluble alginate swabs. This allowed calculation of numbers of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) present, which were biotyped by a simplified version of Baird-Parker's scheme. In order to test for delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) to CNS, indicating cell-mediated immunity, our 116 patients each received an intradermal injection of 01 ml of heat-killed whole cells. No significant difference was found between normal volunteers and patients for their quantitative counts of CNS present on the lid margin. There was also a similar distribution of biotypes within the CNS isolated for both groups. Our overall data, including previous studies for toxin production, do not support a pathogenic role for CNS in most patients with chronic blepharitis. In addition, we were unable to induce a DTH response to CNS in these patients.