Clinical guidelines for acute exposure to laser pointer radiation

Abstract

PurposeTo describe clinical decision guidelines for eye health care professionals meeting patients exposed to laser pointers.MethodsThe Eye Emergency Department at St. Erik Eye Hospital in Stockholm primarily serves the Stockholm Metro region with its 2.2 million people. Every week, on average one patient seeks help at the Eye Emergency after exposure to laser pointer light. The bulk of the patients are subway and bus drivers and police and security officers. Since no objective retinal damage so far has been documented and there is no proven treatment against laser pointer retinal damage we have instigated an information campaign in order to reduce the number of patients seeking emergency care. The information is spread to all public transportation services in Stockholm, police and security officers, aviation authorities, and to the general population.ResultsThe information to all non‐medical staff is general, while the clinical guidelines details which procedures might be relevant and which may be inessential. The guidelines emphasize the importance of documenting a dynamic evolution of retinal damage before causality can be concluded. Within 2 months after the information campaign, there seems to be a decrease of patients seeking emergency eye care after laser pointer light exposure.ConclusionsThe clinical guidelines streamline the care of this patient group, and the information to the public should alleviate some of the worries that are associated to laser pointer light exposure.