Abstract
ObjectiveTo investigate whether occupationally-related phototoxicity can occur from welding. DesignCross-sectional study. ParticipantsForty welders from manufacturing enterprise and 40 age-matched nonwelder controls. MethodsParticipants underwent thorough ophthalmologic examination including fundus photography, automatic perimeter examination, and high definition optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan. The clinical history of all subjects was screened carefully before the study. ResultsThere was no significant difference for best corrected distance visual acuity when comparing welders with nonwelders. Anterior segment, red reflex, Amsler grid test, and perimetric examinations were unremarkable. Fundus photographs revealed a small, round, or oval, dark-yellow macular lesion with an obscure boundary in 19 welder eyes (23.8%). OCT revealed an interruption or defect in the inner segment/outer segment (IS/OS) layer and the inner portion retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) layer in varying degrees in 30 welder eyes (38.0%), revealing a higher prevalence of maculopathy. All control examinations were unremarkable. We have also discovered that OCT is more sensitive than fundus photography in identifying macular lesions. ConclusionsOccupational welders exposed to a welding arc environment have a higher risk of phototoxic maculopathy than nonwelders, as diagnosed most effectively using OCT.
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