{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T13:16:04Z","timestamp":1773234964779,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,10]],"date-time":"2026-03-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773100800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"\u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Clinics and Practice"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: The ocular surface is continuously exposed to microorganisms, and disruption of host\u2013microbial balance may lead to infection or postoperative complications. Increasing antimicrobial resistance and biofilm formation have highlighted the need for alternative or complementary non-antibiotic strategies to control ocular surface microbial burden. Liposomal ozonated oil eyedrops have demonstrated antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity in preclinical and preliminary clinical studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in ocular surface microbiological culture results before and after treatment with liposomal ozonated oil eyedrops in a real-world clinical setting. Methods: This was a prospective, observational, real-world pre\u2013post study including 101 eyes from 101 patients undergoing ocular surface microbiological sampling in routine clinical practice. Two samples were obtained per patient: Sample I immediately before treatment and Sample II at the routine follow-up visit after short-course treatment with liposomal ozonated oil eyedrops (1 drop, four times daily, for 4 days). The interval between samples ranged from 3 to 5 days (median 3 days). Microbiological cultures were classified as positive or showing no growth. Paired changes in culture positivity were analyzed using McNemar\u2019s exact test. Results: At baseline, 87 of 101 samples (86.1%) yielded positive cultures, while 14 (13.9%) showed no growth. Following treatment, culture positivity decreased to 11 of 101 samples (10.9%), with 90 samples (89.1%) showing no growth. Among baseline-positive samples, microbiological clearance was observed in 76 cases (87.4%). No cases converted from culture-negative to culture-positive at follow-up. The reduction in culture positivity after treatment was statistically significant (McNemar\u2019s exact test, p &lt; 0.001). Recent antibiotic exposure within 14 days prior to baseline sampling was reported in 8 patients (7.9%). Persistent positive cultures were observed in a minority of cases and were mainly associated with common ocular surface pathogens. Conclusions: In routine clinical practice, short-term treatment with liposomal ozonated oil eyedrops was associated with a significant reduction in ocular surface culture positivity over a short follow-up interval.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/clinpract16030059","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,10]],"date-time":"2026-03-10T14:45:39Z","timestamp":1773153939000},"page":"59","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Reduction in Ocular Surface Culture Positivity Following Short-Term Treatment with Liposomal Ozonated Oil Eyedrops"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8959-5140","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andreea-Talida","family":"Tirziu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Doctoral School, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square, No. 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"},{"name":"Ophthalmology Department, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square, No. 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Maria-Alexandra","family":"Preda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ophthalmology Department, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square, No. 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Aimee Rodica","family":"Chis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square, No. 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3991-5692","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ionela-Iasmina","family":"Yasar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ophthalmology Department, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square, No. 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-0320-6904","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Norberth-Istvan","family":"Varga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Doctoral School, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square, No. 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"},{"name":"Multidisciplinary Research Center on Antimicrobial Resistance (MULTI-REZ), \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square, No. 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6133-0204","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Florin George","family":"Horhat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Multidisciplinary Research Center on Antimicrobial Resistance (MULTI-REZ), \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square, No. 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Microbiology, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square, No. 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9526-2211","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mihnea","family":"Munteanu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ophthalmology Department, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square, No. 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rosca","family":"Cosmin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"\u201cOculens\u201d Ophtalmology Clinic, Calea Turzii, No. 134, 400347 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"325","article-title":"Human Microbiota and Ophthalmic Disease","volume":"89","author":"Lu","year":"2016","journal-title":"Yale J. 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