Blood-aqueous barrier deterioration following retained metallic corneal foreign body: A laser flare photometric study.

Abstract

This study aims to use laser flare photometry to evaluate flare changes in patients following corneal damage from a metallic foreign body (FB). Foreign body injured eyes and the healthy fellow eyes of 54 consecutive patients were studied in this comparative, observational, cross-sectional study. Flare levels were analyzed according to demographics, history of previous exposures, foreign body location, and foreign body penetration into the injured cornea. The mean flare value was significantly higher for the eyes with corneal foreign body injury compared to the fellow-control eyes (11.35±14.17 ph/ms and 6.30±3.81 ph/ms, respectively) (p=0.014). The mean flare values were significantly lower in eyes with a history of more than one previous corneal foreign body removal flare values than in other eyes (p=0.029). Flare is increased by corneal foreign body exposure. However, eyes that experience multiple previous corneal foreign body exposures may show relatively low flare, probably due to corneal desensitization.