Ocular Injury Flashcards
How can ocular trauma be classified?
Cause - blunt, sharp, chemical, thermal
Type - contusion, penetrating, perforating, rupture, laceration, intraocular foreign body
Structure/s involved - periorbita (facial bones, sinuses, skin), orbital, globe, eyelid, conjunctiva, nasolacrimal system, cornea, iris, ciliary body, vitreous, retina, optic nerve
List some common causes of ocular trauma
Road traffic accidents
Balls, running into other dog etc
Dog/cat fights
Stick injuries
Non accidental injuries
Chemical injuries (cleaning products, detergents etc mostly)
Thermal (phacoemulsification, radiation)
Foreign bodies
Abrasion/ulcerations
What is the ocular trauma terminology commonly used in humans called?
Birmingham Eye Trauma Terminology
What is the definition of an eyewall injury according to the BETT system?
Sclera/corneal injury
What is the definition of a closed globe injury according to the BETT system?
No full thickness wound of eyewall
What is the definition of a open globe injury according to the BETT system?
Full thickness of the eyewall
What is the definition of a contusion according to the BETT system?
No full thickness wound - injury results from direct energy delivery by an object e.g choroidal rupture or from changes in the shape of the globe (e.g angle recession)
What is the definition of a lamellar laceration according to the BETT system?
Partial thickness of the eyewall (not through eyewall but into)
What is the definition of a rupture according to the BETT system?
Full thickness wound of the eyewall caused by blunt object - impact results in momentary release of intraocular pressure, eyewall yields at its weakest point and wound is created by inside-out mechanism
What is the definition of a laceration according to the BETT system?
Laceration = wound occurs at the impact in an outside-in mechanism
What is the definition of a penetrating injury according to the BETT system?
Penetrating = entrance wound, if more than one wound present must have been caused by a different agent
What is the definition of an intraocular foreign body according to the BETT system?
Retained foreign object within the globe
What is the definition of a perforating injury according to the BETT system?
Perforating = entrance and exit wound, both caused by the same agent (one wound by outside in mechanism, other by inside out)
How would you approach a history for a case of ocular injury?
History - BIOP, health, travel, vaccines etc as usual
Injury itself - date, time, how occurred (if known)
Previous trauma (NAI’s beware of inconsistent history)
If intraocular foreign body - composition
If chemical - pH, ideally product name/info, form (liquid, gel, powder)
What things should you assess in a patient with ocular injury (some may come before the ophthalmic examination)
Check no other injuries (especially RTA) - stabilise life threatening injuries first before proceeding with ocular investigations - cover any damaged eyes with damp swab whilst doing this to try and preserve cornea.
Assess vision (if concious)
Dazzle
Menace
PLRs (direct and consensual) - if visible (may not always be possible if hyphema etc)
Open or closed globe? - has globe ruptured
If unable to visualise much then consider imaging
What indications are there for radiography in ocular trauma?
Trauma e.g RTA - assess no diaphragmatic hernia, no other skeletal injuries
Skull/sinus fractures
Metallic foreign bodies
Emphysema (indicative of sinus fracture)
What indications are there for ultrasound in ocular trauma?
Ultrasound = great for globe, especially when visualisation poor e.g due to hyphema
Globe integrity - integrity of ocular coats
Integrity of lens capsule
Lens luxation/subluxation
Vitreal haemorrhage
Retinal detachment
If using ultrasound with traumatised eye how should you perform the ultrasound? What other method could you use to help detect trauma?
Avoid getting coupling gel directly onto corneal surface especially if suspect perforation - risk of uveitis.
Use water in glove as ultrasound stand off.
Can use microbubbles - IV to help show up areas of trauma especially subtle retinal/vitreal detachment
When is CT indicated in ocular trauma cases?
Skeletal assessment - skull fractures
Metallic FB detection
Lung assessment
Faster then MRI and cheaper
Which part of the orbit is most likely to fracture with trauma?
Medial wall of the orbit - thinnest part
When is MRI indicated in cases of ocular trauma and when is it contraindicated?
Contraindicated - metallic FB
Soft tissue evaluation
Brain, optic nerve /CNS evaluation
Is chemical trauma usually mild or severe in terms of threat to vision. What are the most common scenarios for chemical injury?
Severe threat to vision
Cleaning products/building works = most common injuries via this method
Are acidic or alkaline agents more caustic to the eye and why is this? Describe their mechanisms of action.
Alkaline - worse
Acid agents tend to coagulate protein which limits penetration to just superficial structures.
Alkaline products 2 methods to cause damage
1. Cause saponification of triglycerides in the cell membrane leading to lysis of the cell.
2. Denaturation and hydrolysis of proteins leads to loss of structure as well as transport proteins and enzymes and cell death.
Alkaline = both stromal keratocyte and limbal cell death
Can also penetrate to deeper tissue structures e.g trabecular meshwork/ciliary body increasing risk of glaucoma, uveitis and phthisis bulbi.
Why is limbal cell death due to alkaline agents so damaging for the eye and what may be a sign of this.
Blanching of limbus = likely limbal cell death
Limbus = corneal stem cell population in the crypts and palisades of Vogt - important for corneal healing and repair
Stem cells = self renewing to transient daughter cell, transient amplifying daughter cell also self renewing for finite number of divisions then becomes post mitotic terminally differentiated corneal epithelial cell.
What are the consequences of damage to the limbus? What other sequelae may we see with alkaline injuries?
Poor epithelial healing - persistent ulceration and pain, conjunctivalisation of the epithelium potentially affecting visual axis.
Sequelae include - ankyloblepharon (adhesions of upper/lower eyelids), symblepharon
Cicatricial entropion and trichiasis secondary to adhesions and fibrosis.
Pigmentation/vascularisation
Permanent corneal oedema
Damage to trabecular meshwork/ciliary body - uveitis/glaucoma
Pthsis bulbi
Damage to meibomian glands and loss of goblet cells
How may alkaline injuries cause damage to the lacrimal system and tear film?
Alkaline injuries can lead to secondary displacement of the meibomian gland orifices and loss of goblet cells - leading to tear film deficiencies as well as direct damage to the lacrimal system.
What are the acute clinical signs of a chemical injury?
Acute = blepharospasm, oedema of eyelids, chemosis, conjunctival hyperaemia, conjunctival ischaemia, whitish haze of corneal stroma (O’s often report occurred suddenly), mild cornea oedema, uveitis signs.
What can damage of the corneal endothelium by alkaline agents cause?
Can lead to persistent corneal oedema and subsequent bullous keratopathy
What is the very first thing that should be done when a chemical injury has occurred to the eye? Why is this step important?
If client rings up and concern for chemical in eye tell them to lavage with tap water for at least 30 minutes
Tap water = low osmolarity
Hypotonic solutions preferred for lavage (high buffer capacity and can reduce intracameral pH)
Flushing should extend into cojunctival fornices (swipe with cotton bud/cellulose spear)
Lavage = dilute and remove chemical contact
How can you measure the success of lavaging in chemical injuries? When should lavage be continued until?
Can use urine pH strip to measure pH of tear film or litmus paper
Lavage should be continued until normal pH reached (7.4 = aim, normal tear film pH 7.2 to 8)
What other treatments should we consider for chemical injuries?
Necrotic tissue debrided - increased inflammatory mediators and stimulates neutrophils increasing risk of keratomalacia via production of collagenases.
Topical broad spectrum antibiotics
Collagenase inhibitors - topical autologous serum (also promotes epithelial healing)
Analgesia - systemic NSAID + 1% atropine to reduce ciliary body spasm, may also need opioids
?Oral tx with doxycycline - inhibit corneal vascularisation
AVOID topical steroids/NSAIDS as may worsen corneal ulceration, melting and perforation
What treatments may we used for chemical injuries in the intermediate stage (7-21 days post injury)
Encourage epithelialisation and control inflammation
Bandage contact lens, temporary tarrsorrhaphy, amniotic membrane graft (supports epithelialisation but also prevents symblepharon and reduces corneal vascularisation)
What treatments may be considered in the late phase management of chemical injuries?
Addressing permanent ocular surface damage
Superficial keratectomies
Limbal autograft (stem cell transplant using stem cells from other eye - 2 clock hours or cultured stem cells of amniotic membrane)
Penetrating keratoplasty
?Keratoprosthesis - failed in literature so far
Amniotic membrane grafts - anti-collagenase activity, resist infection, encourage healing, resist infection, analgesia, prevent adhesions
What are some sources for thermal injuries to the eye?
Thermal - burns e.g housefire, NAI e.g cigarrette burns, surgical (phacoemulsification), laser burns, radiation exposure (cancer treatment), lightning strike
What are the consequences of burns to the eyelids?
Cicatricial entropion (fibrosis)
May require cicatrix excision and blepharoplastic repair after initial healing
What should be the initial treatment for a burn injury?
Cooling
Occlusive dressing
Antibiotic therapy
Fluid therapy depending on surface area of burns and depth
Analgesia - associated with severe pain
(N.B Smoke inhalation may be life threatening and should take precedence over any ocular injury)
What are the consequences of burns to the cornea?
Corneal oedema +/-stromal fibrosis and contraction
Conjunctival hyperaemia and chemosis may also be present
Why may thermal burns occur with phacoemulsification?
Occur if lavage tip occluded allowing phacoemulsification needle to overheat and burns structures it contact (mostly cornea)
Corneal stroma contracts and opacifies making incision closure more difficult
Cover with advancement conjunctival graft if occurs as post operative shrinkage may lead to an aqueous leak and gape.
How can radiation exposure cause injury to the eye?
May be seen with radiotherapy where eye not excluded from the radiation field - can cause blepharitis, lacrimal gland damage (tear film deficiency), lens damage resulting in cataract formation and retinal damage leading to degeneration and blindness.
What type of damage may a lightning strike cause?
Retinal and cataract formation + thermal burns at strike site
List some examples of blunt force trauma in animals.
RTA, ball injuries, collisions with other animals/people/furniture.
NAI - beatings
What else should you consider in terms of assessment when presented with an animal with blunt force trauma?
No other injuries - life threatening get priority over oculr injuries
Cover eye with damp swab and lubricant if exposed
What happens to the cornea and globe when a blunt force trauma occurs and what are the consequences of this?
Blunt trauma to cornea causes deformation of the cornea and subsequent equatorial expansion of the globe. As the corneal deformation resolves the axial globe length then may expand.
Expansion = intraocular haemorrhage, iridodialysis (peripheral iris shears away from cornea), iris tears, lens luxation, ciliary body dialysis (ciliary body separation from sclera), retinal dialysis (retinal tear at ora serrata - ora serrata = most anterior extension of retina, junction between choroid and ciliary body), retinal schisis (splits in retinal layers) and retinal detachment.
Intraocular pressure may also rise to such an extent that ocular coat ruptures - most commonly at posterior pole and adjacent to optic nerve head in dogs/cats.
What may you see presentation wise in animals with scleral rupture? What step would you do next to confirm?
360 subconjunctival haemorrhage - ocular ultrasound to confirm
List other types of injury we may think about with blunt force trauma.
Proptosis, Globe rupture, facial and oral fractures, sinus fractures, optic nerve avulsion, optic neuropathy
How does the equatorial lengthening that occurs with blunt force trauma lead to lens subluxation/luxation?
Equatorial lengthening may rupture lens zonules allowing for lens luxation/subluxation.
What is angle recession and how does it occur in severe blunt trauma? How would you identify this injury? What would you expect to see as a consequence.
Rare but has been reported
Seen with very severe blunt trauma
Iridocorneal angle appears shifted posteriorally and widened
Believed to occur due to aqueous being forced into iridocorneal angle and causing split in ciliary body
Longitudinal ciliary muscle still attached to sclera but circular muscle of ciliary body and the iris root forcefully separated.
Gonioscopy required for identification
Glaucoma as a consequence
What is a retinal tear? How do they occur and what is the definition of a giant retinal tear.
Form when hole ripped into retina
Giant tear = >2 clock hours
Hole allows vitreous (especially if liquidified) to move underneath the retina and increase the retinal detachment (progression)
Retinal tears largely due to disruption of vitreoretinal adhesions
Peripheral retinal tears more commonly as adhesions cause increased shearing forces on peripheral retina (vitreous gel pivots on this adhesion)
Dorsal retinal tear often more significant than ventral - gravity and greater pivot force acting.
When do we usually see traumatic cataracts following a blunt trauma?
Weeks-months after incident
Trauma require to dislocate a lens (except in cases of primary lens luxation where lens zonules already weakened) usually results in concurrent retinal detachment or scleral rupture giving poor prognosis for vision.
Where may intraocular haemorrhage originate from?
How long does haemorrhage take to clear in each segment?
What may be associated with posterior segment haemorrhage?
Iris, ciliary body, choroid or retina
Anterior chamber- usually quick to clear if no further bleeds occur
Posterior segment - slow to clear (weeks to months), may be associated with vitreal floaters
What other type of rupture can we see in humans with blunt force trauma?
Choroidal rupture/detachment
Associated with macula - immediate vision loss
Some vision may return with resolution of haemorrhage if not in macula area
May see delayed vision loss either due to epiretinal membane formation (glial proliferation through trauma breaks internal limiting membranes of retina) or choroidal neovascularisation (angiogenesis stimulated by hypoxia)
What signs of blunt force trauma may we seen in birds?
Prone - RTA/flying into windows
Scleral rupture, choroidal rupture, retinal detachment, pre-retinal membranes, iridodialysis, ciliary body dialysis, cataracts, lens luxation, traumatic uveitis, intraocular haemorrhage, chronic corneal ulcers/erosions.
Pecten haemorrhage and disruption also seen.
What may sinus fractures result in and how should they be treated?
Emphysema - treated as open fractures
Broad spectrum AB cover should be provided systemically