[Studies on ocular alkali burn estimated by the component change of tear fluid and aqueous humor]

In this report, we aimed at examining biochemically the ocular surface damage caused by alkali burn. We used a low concentration of NaOH (less than 0.1 N) and examined the relationship between the ocular surface damage and the concentration of NaOH by examining the changes in components that have been released from corneoconjunctival tissues to the tear fluids by alkali burns, and we also examined the effects of eye rinsing and using topical ophthalmic agents. As a result, NaOH of more than 0.03 N was proven to cause the ocular surface damage. The changes of glutathione in tear fluids showed two peaks during the repair process and that coincided with the morphological changes. By measuring the released quantities of three components (glutathione, ascorbic acid and protein) with the use of three methods of alkali burns (corneoconjunctival pooling method, corneal cylinder method and conjunctival pooling method), we could estimate the slight corneoconjunctival damage using one sample biochemically. Moreover, the importance of eye rinsing was quantitatively demonstrated.