The Microbiome of Meibomian Gland Secretions from Patients with Internal Hordeolum Treated with Hypochlorous Acid Eyelid Wipes

Objective. The aims of our experiment were to compare the microorganisms in meibomian gland secretions from patients with internal hordeolum before and after treatment using hypochlorous acid eyelid wipes, to elucidate the mechanism underlying hypochlorous acid eyelid wipe treatment of internal hordeolum. Methods. This was a prospective, matched-pair study. A total of eight patients with internal hordeolum who attended the ophthalmology clinic of our hospital from April to August 2020 were included. Meibomian gland secretions were collected from subjects before treatment (Group A) and from patients cured after eyelid cleaning with hypochlorous acid eyelid wipes for 7 days (Group B). Samples were submitted to 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing, and the resulting data were analyzed to compare the differences in the structure and composition of meibomian gland secretion microbial flora before and after treatment of internal hordeolum. Results. A total of 2127 operational taxonomic units were obtained from the two groups of samples, and there was no significant difference in alpha diversity before and after eyelid cleaning. At the phylum level, there was no significant difference between the two groups. The predominant phyla in Group A included the following: Firmicutes (32.78%±20.16%), Proteobacteria (26.73%±7.49%), Acidobacteria (10.58%±11.45%), Bacteroidetes (9.05%±6.63%), Actinobacteria (8.48% ±1.77%), and Chloroflexi (3.15%±3.12%), while those in Group B were the following: Proteobacteria (31.86%±9.69%), Firmicutes (29.07%±24.20%), Acidobacteria (11.33%±7.53%), Actinobacteria (7.10%±1.98%), Bacteroidetes (5.39%±5.17%), and Chloroflexi (3.89%±3.67%). Starting from the class level, significant differences in microbial communities were detected before and after eyelid cleaning (P