title: Oxygen therapy for acute ocular chemical or thermal burns: a pilot study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effect of systemic oxygen therapy in the management of acute ocular chemical and thermal burns.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective, nonrandomized, comparative, interventional case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-four eyes of 22 patients with grade III to IV acute ocular chemical and thermal burns received conventional medical therapy. The oxygen therapy group (13 eyes) additionally received 100% oxygen using a simple mask at a flow rate of 10 L/minute for 1 hour twice daily. Main outcome measures were time for healing of the corneal epithelial defect and improvement in perilimbal ischemia. Secondary outcome measures included visual acuity, corneal transparency and vascularization, and complications.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Corneal epithelial defects healed within 15.23 ± 3.94 days (range, 10 to 21 days) in the oxygen group versus 59.9 ± 23.33 days (range, 28 to 95 days) in controls (P < .001). Vascularization of ischemic areas was complete in 14.54 ± 2.70 days (range, 10 to 21 days) in the oxygen group versus 45.09 ± 22.20 days (range, 25 to 105 days) in controls (P = .001). In the oxygen group, the cornea was more transparent and less vascularized 3 and 6 months after injury. Mean final visual acuity (logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution) was 0.40 ± 0.52 (range, 0 to 1.3) versus 1.11 ± 0.83 (range, 0.1 to 3) in the oxygen and control groups, respectively (P = .018). In the oxygen group, symblepharon or corneoscleral melting did not develop in any patient; however, in the control group, symblepharon developed in 3 eyes and corneoscleral melting developed in 1 patient.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the acute phase of ocular chemical or thermal burns, oxygen therapy improves limbal ischemia, accelerates epithelialization, increases corneal transparency, and decreases corneal vascularization. It also may improve visual acuity and reduce complications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran. sharifipourf@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Farideh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sharifipour
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baradaran-Rafii
authors.forename: Esmaeil
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Idani
authors.forename: Mitra
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zamani
authors.forename: Mohammad Hossein
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Jabbarpoor Bonyadi
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002057:Burns, Chemical / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D019573:Epithelium, Corneal / Q000502:physiology; D005126:Eye Burns / Q000139:chemically induced*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010100:Oxygen / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D010102:Oxygen Inhalation Therapy; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen