Topical ocular anesthetic abuse among Iranian welders: time for action

The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence of topical ocular anesthetic abuse among welders in Iran and suggest public health solutions for this issue In this cross-sectional study, 390 welders were randomly recruited and queried on the use of anesthetic drops. A questionnaire was administered through structured one-on-one interviews conducted by the first author. A total of 314 welders [80.5%] declared that they had used topical anesthetics at least once during their working lives. Almost 90% of them stated a preference for self-treatment over seeking help from a physician due to cultural and financial reasons. The most commonly used topical anesthetic was tetracaine. Most of the subjects [97.4%] had obtained the drugs from pharmacies without a prescription The prevalence of topical ocular anesthetic abuse among welders in Iran is alarmingly high and may partially be due to cultural issues. Although most physicians are aware that topical anesthetics should only be used as a diagnostic tool, there is a crucial need to re-emphasize the ocular risks associated with chronic use of these medications. Educational programs for both physicians and the public are necessary to address the problem

Visual fitness of public vehicle drivers in southeast of Iran

Although visual impairment of drivers is a very important risk factor for car accident, a few published papers have explored this issue in Iran. This study aims to evaluate the visual fitness of public vehicle drivers in Kerman province, southeast of Iran. A total of 4,003 public vehicle drivers were examined by one ophthalmologist for visual fitness in Kerman province between January 2009 and June 2010. Data are presented as Mean +/- SD or percentage, and with 95% confidence intervals [CIs]. Pearson Chi-square and McNemmar tests along with crude odds ratio [OR] were used to compare vision deficit between groups. Almost 361 drivers [9.0%; 95% CI: 8.1-9.9] had insufficient vision to drive public vehicles before the refractive errors [RE] correction and this number, was reduced to 68 drivers [1.7%; 95% CI: 1.3-2.1] after the correction. A number of them including 200 drivers [5.0%; 95% CI: 4.3-5.7] had insufficient vision to drive personal vehicles before the correction and this was reduced to 30 thereafter [0.8%; 95% CI: 0.5-1.0]. We also found out that the vision status got worse with aging, and RE was the most prevalent cause of sight defects. It seems that visual fitness of public vehicle drivers is a point of real concerns which might somewhat explain the high rate of car accidents in Iran