Clinico-demographic profile and outcomes of ocular Paediatric chemical injuries in eastern India

The purpose of this study is to analyse demographic profile, causative factors, clinical features and outcomes of ocular chemical injuries in paediatric patients in Eastern India. This was a retrospective case-based study, of 101 patients below 18 years of age who visited our Emergency/Cornea Department from July 2018 to July 2023, with ocular chemical injuries. An Electronic Medical Record (EMR) search was done, and details of Visual acuity, anterior and posterior segment evaluation, and Dua’s grading of the chemical injury were noted. Details of medical management and surgical procedures were noted including details of follow-up visits. A total of 116 eyes of 101 children who presented to our tertiary eye care centre hospital were included. The mean age was 8.63 years ranging from 6 months to 17 years. The most common causative agent was alkali, in 53.46%, of which lime was the predominantly seen, 64.81%. Acid was the causative agent in 39.60%. Chemical injuries were classified as per Dua’s classification. 38.38% required surgical intervention. The Best Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA) at 3 months follow up was better than 20/200 in 36.84%, and 63.15% had poor visual outcome. Sequelae in the follow up period were seen in 36 out of the 38 cases. Our study emphasises that, paediatric chemical injuries, when treated promptly, can provide a decent visual function. The study provides a glimpse of the trends in paediatric ocular chemical injuries in this region.