title: Low-Level Primary Blast Causes Acute Ocular Trauma in Rabbits.
abstract: The objective of this study was to determine whether clinically significant ocular trauma can be induced by a survivable isolated primary blast using a live animal model. Both eyes of 18 Dutch Belted rabbits were exposed to various survivable low-level blast overpressures in a large-scale shock tube simulating a primary blast similar to an improvised explosive device. Eyes of the blast-exposed rabbits (as well as five control rabbits) were thoroughly examined before and after blast to detect changes. Clinically significant changes in corneal thickness arose immediately after blast and were sustained through 48 h, suggesting possible disruption of endothelial function. Retinal thickness (RT) increased with increasing specific impulse immediately after exposure. Intraocular pressure (IOP) was inversely correlated with the specific impulse of the blast wave. These findings clearly indicate that survivable primary blast causes ocular injuries with likely visual functional sequelae of clinical and military relevance.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio , San Antonio, Texas.
authors.forename: Kirstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: 2 U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research , JBSA Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas.
authors.forename: Jae-Hyek
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio , San Antonio, Texas.|3 WESMD Professional Associates , San Antonio, Texas.|4 Rosenberg School of Optometry, University of the Incarnate Word , San Antonio, Texas.
authors.forename: William E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Sponsel
authors.affiliation: 5 Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at San Antonio , San Antonio, Texas.
authors.forename: Walt
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.affiliation: 6 Department of Ophthalmology, University of North Carolina , Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Sylvia L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Groth
authors.affiliation: 7 Department of Ophthalmology, University of Texas Health Science Center , San Antonio, Texas.
authors.forename: Randolph D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Glickman
authors.affiliation: 2 U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research , JBSA Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas.
authors.forename: Brian J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Lund
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio , San Antonio, Texas.
authors.forename: Matthew A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Reilly
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001753:Blast Injuries; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005131:Eye Injuries; D011817:Rabbits
keywords: animal model; head trauma; models of injury; ocular blast trauma; primary blast trauma