Chemical ocular injury is one of the common ophthalmologic emergencies that can cause vision loss and serious complications. Despite all protective measures, it continues to be a serious public health problem, especially in young male patients. Although it is known that injuries occur most frequently in the workplace and in young male patients, there is a variable frequency and distribution in different regions around the world. In addition, with the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, there are changing trends in ocular chemical injuries. This review aims to specify an update on the epidemiological and etiological features of ocular chemical injuries.

To evaluate and compare the risk factors, presenting features, and outcomes of patients with culture-positive and culturenegative microbial keratitis (MK) who presented to a tertiary referral center. We conducted a retrospective review of the medical records of 314 patients who were diagnosed with MK in our clinic between 2012 and 2019. Among 314 patients, 142 had positive cultures (45.2%). The mean ages of the culture-positive and -negative patients at the time of diagnosis were 51.39±21.31 (range, 14-90) years and 56.68±21.34 (7-94) years, respectively (p=0.028). The mean best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of the culture-positive and -negative patients were1.74±1.25 (0-3.1) LogMAR and 1.91±1.23 (0-3.1) LogMAR prior to treatment and increased to 1.21±1.30 (0-3.1) LogMAR and 1.27± 1.29 (0-3.1) LogMAR at last visit, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between culture-positive and -negative patients’ BCVA levels at presentation or last visit. Ninety-two patients (64.7%) were infected with bacteria and 50 patients (35.2%) with fungi. The most common pathogen was Pseudomonas aeruginosa (18.3%), followed by Streptococcus pneumoniae (11.2%) and Fusarium spp. (11.2%). Keratitis foci were either centrally or paracentrally located in 105 eyes (73.9%) of culture-positive patients and 149 eyes (86.6%) of culture-negative patients. Multiple foci were present mostly in culture-positive patients (p=0.001). There was no significant difference between the culture-positive and -negative groups in terms of hypopyon presence (p=0.364). The proportion of contact lens (CL) wearers was 33% (n=47) among culturepositive MK patients and 13.3% (n=23) among culture-negative MK patients, respectively (p<0.001). Culture positivity was found to be significantly higher in keratitis associated with CL use (p=0.0001). Microbiological analysis and culture evaluation are important steps in order to manage proper treatment in microbial keratitis. Prognosis mostly depends on the infectivity of the microbiological agent.

To assess the anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) findings of various types of corneal foreign bodies. The medical records of patients with corneal foreign body were retrospectively analyzed. Patients who underwent anterior segment photography and Spectralis AS-OCT (Heidelberg Engineering GmbH, Germany) imaging were included. The AS-OCT findings of 22 eyes of 20 patients with corneal foreign body were reviewed. The mean age was 34.9±14.98 years (range, 15-71) with a female/male ratio of 4/16. The mean best corrected visual acuity at presentation was 0±0 LogMAR (range, 0-0). There were 18 metallic, 3 organic (chestnut burr), and 1 chemical clay foreign bodies. The metal materials demonstrated hyperreflectivity with a mirror effect. Chemical clay, which is an opaque material, had a hyperreflective appearance. Chestnut burr is an organic foreign body with a feather-like pattern and was not detected with AS-OCT. AS-OCT is a valuable non-invasive tool to define the characteristics of foreign bodies, as well as decide the proper treatment method and monitor patients with corneal foreign bodies.

Purpose: The objective of this study is to evaluate the clinical features of pediatric herpes simplex virus keratitis, its recurrence rates, and its effects on visual acuity. Methods: In this retrospective case series, records of pediatric patients (0–16 years) who presented with herpes simplex virus keratitis between January 2012 and September 2021 were evaluated. Data including age, gender, additional systemic diseases, the number of recurrences, recurrence time, treatment protocol, follow-up period, and presence of amblyopia were reviewed. Results: Twenty-four patients (16 females and 8 males) with a mean age of 6.6 ± 4 (1.1–15) years were included in the study. The mean follow-up time was 21 ± 19.9 (7–94) months. Four patients (16.6%) had bilateral keratitis. Including all 4 patients with bilateral involvement, a total of 10 (41.6%) patients had additional systemic diseases that cause immunodeficiency. After prophylactic antiviral treatment for at least 6 months (except for isolated epithelial keratitis), recurrence was detected in 5 (22.7%) patients, who were all immunodeficient. Among immunodeficient individuals, the recurrence rate was found to be 50%. Keratitis recurrence was significantly associated with immunodeficiency (P = 0.03). However, type of keratitis (P = 0.42), gender (P = 0.47), and bilaterality (P = 0.54) were not related with recurrence. 66.7% of the patients younger than 10 years developed amblyopia during follow-up. Conclusions: In childhood, the most frequent corneal manifestation of herpes simplex virus is stromal keratitis that mostly progresses with corneal scarring, residual astigmatism, and amblyopia. The recurrence rate increases in the presence of immunosuppression. Close follow-up, rapid diagnosis, and treatment are critical for battling against amblyopia and achieving good visual prognosis.

We evaluated limbal stem cell transplant success in limbal stem cell deficiency due to chemical injury at a tertiary eye care center in Turkey with a novel system for describing limbal stem cell deficiency, as developed by the Limbal Stem Cell Working Group. Medical records of 80 eyes of 80 patients after limbal stem cell transplant for limbal stem cell deficiency secondary to chemical injury were included, with patients grouped according to surgical procedure, ie, limbal autograft, limbal allograft, and cultivated limbal epithelial cell transplant. Surgical success was defined as improvement in postoperative year 1 of limbal stem cell deficiency stage. Patients' mean age was 37.9 ± 15.7 years (range, 4-71 years). Male/female ratio was 2.4. Forty-five patients (56.3%) were injured with alkaline substance, and 16 (20%) with acid substance. Mean follow-up time was 60.3 ± 30.6 months (range, 6-118.6 months). Limbal autograft, allograft, and cultivated limbal epithelial cell transplants were performed in 58 (72.5%), 12 (15%), and 10 (12.5%) eyes, respectively. Intervals between injury and surgery in limbal autograft, limbal allograft, and cultivated limbal epithelial cell transplants were 43.3 ± 94.1 months (range, 0.5-592 months), 14.5 ± 10.6 months (range, 2.4-32.5 months), and 122.8 ± 158.9 months (range, 21.1-504 months), respectively (P = .02); and surgical success rates in each group were 65.5%, 41.7%, and 90%, respectively (P = .03). Overall surgical success rate was 65%. Accurate determination of the limbal stem cell deficiency stage is crucial for proper evaluation of surgical success. Surgery type and interval between injury and surgery were the most important factors associated with higher surgical success rates. Despite the limited number of patients in the subgroups, the results were remarkable to emphasize the significance of a novel limbal stem cell deficiency scoring system.

Objectives: To report demographic characteristics, types and grades of injury, regional distribution of injury severity, clinical findings, and long-term results of acute ocular chemical burns. Methods: Medical records of patients with chemical burns between 2010 and 2020 who were admitted to Ege University less than 72 hr after the injury were reviewed. Age, gender, cause of the burn, injury severity, initial and final best-corrected visual acuity, surgical intervention, and complications were recorded. The injury severity was graded according to Dua classification. Results: A total of 104 patients (137 eyes) were included. The mean age was 42.69±17.39 (7–90) years with a male-to-female ratio of 86:18. The most common causes were home (32.6%) and industrial accidents (45.1%). The causative agent percentages for alkaline, acid, and neutral were 49.0%, 35.5%, and 5.7%, respectively. The percentages of eyes in each grade (1–6) were 16.0%, 16.0%, 15.3%, 16.7%, 17.5%, and 18.2%, respectively. Complications mostly occurred in eyes with grade 2 or higher injuries (83.7%). The relationship between injury grade and limbal stem-cell deficiency was statistically significant (P<0.001). Surgery was mostly needed in grade 4 or higher injuries (44 eyes). Conclusion: The severity of the burn is one of the most important prognostic factors in chemical burns. It is important to determine the spreading of the regional injury severity beside the global one to predict complication risk of the injuries. In the present study, the injury distribution was homogeneous in all grades. Limbal stem-cell deficiency development took place mostly in grade 5 and 6 burns as expected.