TY - JOUR
T1 - Management of alkali burns
T2 - An 11-year retrospective review
AU - Brodovsky, Stephen C.
AU - McCarty, Catherine A.
AU - Snibson, Grant
AU - Loughnan, Michael
AU - Sullivan, Laurence
AU - Daniell, Mark
AU - Taylor, Hugh R.
PY - 2000
Y1 - 2000
N2 - Objective: To review the spectrum of patients with alkali burns admitted over an 11-year period and to assess the clinical outcomes after the introduction of a standard alkali burn treatment protocol. Design: Retrospective nonrandomized comparative study. Patients and Interventions: A total of 121 patient records with alkali burns (n = 177 eyes) admitted to a tertiary hospital between 1987 and 1998 were reviewed. Eyes treated with a standard alkali burn treatment protocol, which included intensive topical steroids, ascorbate, citrate, and antibiotics, were compared with eyes treated by conservative management with antibiotics, and a short course of steroids. Main Outcome Measures: Time to corneal reepithelialization, final best-corrected visual acuity, and time to visual recovery, length of hospital stay, and complications were analyzed. Results: The standard protocol tended to delay corneal reepithelialization by one day (P = not significant) in eyes with grade 1 burns (n = 76) and by 2 days (P = 0.04) in grade 2 burns (n = 52), with no difference in final visual outcome. There were 37 eyes with grade 3 burns. Those treated with the standard protocol showed a trend toward more rapid corneal reepithelialization. Twenty-seven of 29 (93%) eyes with grade 3 injuries achieved a final best-corrected visual acuity of 20/40 or better compared with 3 of 6 (50%) eyes not treated according to the standard protocol (P = 0.02). Eyes with grade 4 burns (n = 12), whether treated with the standard protocol or not, required 10 to 12 weeks for corneal reepithelialization. There was no statistically significant difference in final visual acuity. Conclusions: On the basis of our findings, a number of recommendations can be made for the management of alkali injuries. Patients with a grade 1 or 2 injury do not require routine admission and do not benefit from the use of intensive treatment with ascorbate and citrate. A trend toward more rapid healing and a better final visual outcome were apparent in grade 3 burns, but our standard protocol made no difference in grade 4 burns. (C) 2000 American Academy of Ophthalmology.
AB - Objective: To review the spectrum of patients with alkali burns admitted over an 11-year period and to assess the clinical outcomes after the introduction of a standard alkali burn treatment protocol. Design: Retrospective nonrandomized comparative study. Patients and Interventions: A total of 121 patient records with alkali burns (n = 177 eyes) admitted to a tertiary hospital between 1987 and 1998 were reviewed. Eyes treated with a standard alkali burn treatment protocol, which included intensive topical steroids, ascorbate, citrate, and antibiotics, were compared with eyes treated by conservative management with antibiotics, and a short course of steroids. Main Outcome Measures: Time to corneal reepithelialization, final best-corrected visual acuity, and time to visual recovery, length of hospital stay, and complications were analyzed. Results: The standard protocol tended to delay corneal reepithelialization by one day (P = not significant) in eyes with grade 1 burns (n = 76) and by 2 days (P = 0.04) in grade 2 burns (n = 52), with no difference in final visual outcome. There were 37 eyes with grade 3 burns. Those treated with the standard protocol showed a trend toward more rapid corneal reepithelialization. Twenty-seven of 29 (93%) eyes with grade 3 injuries achieved a final best-corrected visual acuity of 20/40 or better compared with 3 of 6 (50%) eyes not treated according to the standard protocol (P = 0.02). Eyes with grade 4 burns (n = 12), whether treated with the standard protocol or not, required 10 to 12 weeks for corneal reepithelialization. There was no statistically significant difference in final visual acuity. Conclusions: On the basis of our findings, a number of recommendations can be made for the management of alkali injuries. Patients with a grade 1 or 2 injury do not require routine admission and do not benefit from the use of intensive treatment with ascorbate and citrate. A trend toward more rapid healing and a better final visual outcome were apparent in grade 3 burns, but our standard protocol made no difference in grade 4 burns. (C) 2000 American Academy of Ophthalmology.
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U2 - 10.1016/S0161-6420(00)00289-X
DO - 10.1016/S0161-6420(00)00289-X
M3 - Article
C2 - 11013181
AN - SCOPUS:0033776789
SN - 0161-6420
VL - 107
SP - 1829
EP - 1835
JO - Ophthalmology
JF - Ophthalmology
IS - 10
ER -