Clinical-epidemiological aspects of patients assisted with ocular burns by chemical agents

Abstract

Introduction: Eye burns are classified as a serious public health problem due to the lack of awareness about eye protection, morbidity and severity of the consequences that occur. Objective: Characterize patients with ocular burns due to chemical agents according to clinical and epidemiological variables. Method: Observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study in 439 patients with ocular burns due to chemical agents. The variables of age, sex, ocular pathological history, degree of the burn, chemical causative agent, visual acuity, and present signs and symptoms were measured. The mean, percentage and standard deviation were used as summary measures. In order to associate variables under study, the ji square statistician was used for a significance level of a= 0.05. Results: 63.8% of the patients assisted were male. Alkaline substances affected the ocular surface of 332 people (75.6%). Eye pain (90%), decreased visual acuity (85%) and foreign body sensation (72%) were the main symptoms reported by affected patients. After examination of the ocular surface, the most relevant clinical findings were conjunctival hyperemia (92.3%) and epithelial defects (88.6%). Conclusions: Eye burns from chemical agents are mostly caused by alkalis. They affect people of any age, with preference for the male sex, and they are accompanied by pain, decreased visual acuity, conjunctival hyperemia and epithelial defects.

Keywords

• agudeza visual
• álcalis
• conjuntiva ocular
• quemaduras.