DR. JAMEEL FATEMA

Dr. PRABHUGOUDA B. LINGADALLI, Dr. ZAMEER-UL-HASAN GOLEWALE, Dr. DESHPANDE VIDYA NARAYAN

Abstract

•Exposure keratitis is a preventable complication in patients on ventilator

•To screen for tear film abnormality,corneal surface irregularity & assess effect of padding,a tertiary hospital based cohort study was done(Jan’19-Mar’20).Consecutive patients on ventilator were included,excluding patients with known dry eye/infection.Screening with Shcirmer’s test,TBUT & corneal abrasion(blue filter of miniophthalmoscope)by trained ICU staff. If either test abnormal,manual lid closure & padding,4 hourly done.Tests repeated on extubation•314 eyes of 157 patients studied(416 ventilator days).51.91 % were Schirmers test<5mm,48.08% were TBUT<10 sec,( mean onset:4.6±1.3 & 4.9±1.1 ventilator days).151 eyes were padded. Schirmer test & TBUT values,pre and post eye padding were statistically significant. •Screening for tear film abnormality & corneal abrasion followed by padding, through critical care staff education, is a low cost method to reduce risk of exposure keratitis in patients on ventilator