Heparin inhibits Pseudomonas adherence to soft contact lenses.

Adherence of bacteria to the surface of contact lenses may play an important role in contact lens intolerance and corneal infections. To decrease the capability of bacteria to adhere to contact lenses we incubated two types of soft contact lenses with two strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (serotypes 0:11 and 0:8) at a concentration of 5 x 10(7) c.f.u./ml for 12 hours. When heparin was added to the medium at a concentration of 1000 IU/ml the numbers of bacteria adhering to the contact lenses were significantly fewer than in the controls (p < 0.005). Our results suggest that heparin, either included in contact lens solutions or bonded to the surface of the contact lens, may decrease contact-lens-related morbidity.