The effect of acid on eyes.

ABSTRACT

We made a retrospective study of 14 patients at Siriraj Hospital with ocular injuries due to acid to determine the common causes of acid eye burns, their vlinical presentation management and complications. Thriteen patients were male with a men age 19.0 + 9.5 years (+ SD). The commones causative agent was Hydrochloric acid (4 cases, 28.6%). The majority of cases had pain with decreased vision. Eight cases (57.1%) were affected bilaterally. Eight eyes (36.4%) had severe decreased vision (< 6/60) before treatment, and 6 eyes (27.3%) showed not improvement after treatment. Fifteen eyes (68.2%) had lid burns while nineteen eyes (86.4%) had corneal burns. The average wound healing time was 20.6 + 24.3 days (+ SD.). Twenty-one eyes (95.5%) were cured and improved after treatment. Complications accounted for 21.4% such as corneal opacity, symblepharon, glaucoma, trichiasis, and wound gaping.