Diagnostic accuracy of the immersion high-frequency B-scan ultrasonography in chemical injured eyes

Abstract

To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of the immersion high-frequency B-scan ultrasonography, a noninvasive preoperative diagnosis method, in observing the anterior segment in chemical injured eyes. It was a retrospective study. Sixty-three ocular chemical injury patients (63 eyes), who accepted the keratoplasty or the artificial cornea transplant in PLA General Hospital from May 2011 to May 2013, were included in this study. All the injured eyes were examined by ultrasound bio-microscopy (UBM) and immersion high-frequency B-scan ultrasonography, respectively. The images were analyzed and the results were compared with the intraoperative findings. The observation of lens was the main parameter. All the 63 patients were examined with the UBM and the immersion high-frequency B-scan ultrasonography before the surgery. The findings of the cornea, anterior chamber angle, iris from UBM were consistent with those from the immersion high-frequency B-scan ultrasonography. As for the lens observation, in 32 eyes in which the lens were not detected by UBM, the lens were not detected in only 16 eyes, while 3 eyes with normal lens and 13 eyes with lens pacifications (1 eye with pyknotic lens) by immersion high-frequency B-scan ultrasonography. In 17 eyes in which the lens were found normal by UBM, there were only 14 eyes with normal lens and the rest 3 eyes' lens were found intumescent by immersion high-frequency B-scan ultrasonography. In 6 eyes in which lens were detected with suspicious by UBM, 2 eyes' lens were pyknotic and 4 eyes' lens were intumescent or clouded by immersion high-frequency B-scan ultrasonography. The findings of immersion high-frequency B-scan ultrasonography were highly consistent with the intraoperative findings. The lens could be observed accurately by immersion high-frequency B-scan ultrasonography in chemical injured eyes.