Treatment of Corneal Abrasions With Topical Tetracaine

Summary

Corneal abrasion (CA) is one of the most common eye injuries, accounting for 10% of eye-related emergency visits.1 A 1985 survey showed that around 3% of all visits to US general practitioners were for corneal abrasions. In addition, in 2008, approximately 27,450 work-related eye injuries and illnesses occurred that caused missed time from work.1Due to the large number of nerve endings even small corneal injuries can produce significant pain. The discomfort is typically most pronounced in the first 24-48 hours, and in many cases showed a loss in time at work and disruption of daily activities. The current standard of care in the emergency department includes topical analgesia and antibiotics with a change to oral analgesics upon discharge. Despite the ineffectiveness of oral analgesics in treating CA pain, most physicians do not prescribe topical analgesics based on standard medical teaching. The study's aim is to further investigate the role of tetracaine in the outpatient management of CA utilizing models already established to ensure safety. To accomplish this investigators will employ a prospective, double blind, randomized control model to compare undiluted 1% tetracaine hydrochloride to normal saline in patients presenting to the ED with uncomplicated corneal abrasions. Tetracaine will be supplied in three plastic prefilled, commercially available vials, each containing 0.5 mL of preservative-free, undiluted 1% tetracaine hydrochloride (a total of 1.5 mL or approximately 50 drops will be provide to avoid overuse). Saline will also be supplied in three plastic prefilled, commercially available vials, plastic bullets. Follow up visits or calls will be provide at 48 hour to reevaluate symptoms an asses the patients perceived pain using VAS provided in participant introduction packet during the informed consent process.

Timeline

Start

2016-06

Primary completion

2018-06

Completion

2018-10

Publications

• Background Waldman N, Densie IK, Herbison P. Topical tetracaine used for 24 hours is safe and rated highly effective by patients for the treatment of pain caused by corneal abrasions: a double-blind, randomized clinical trial. Acad Emerg Med. 2014 Apr;21(4):374-82. doi: 10.1111/acem.12346.
• Background Pruet CM, Feldman RM, Kim G. Re: "topical tetracaine used for 24 hours is safe and rated highly effective by patients for the treatment of pain caused by corneal abrasions: a double-blind, randomized clinical trial". Acad Emerg Med. 2014 Sep;21(9):1062-3. doi: 10.1111/acem.12470. No abstract available.
• Background Swaminathan A, Otterness K, Milne K, Rezaie S. The Safety of Topical Anesthetics in the Treatment of Corneal Abrasions: A Review. J Emerg Med. 2015 Nov;49(5):810-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2015.06.069. Epub 2015 Aug 15.
• Results Segal KL, Fleischut PM, Kim C, Levine B, Faggiani SL, Banerjee S, Gadalla F, Lelli GJ Jr. Evaluation and treatment of perioperative corneal abrasions. J Ophthalmol. 2014;2014:901901. doi: 10.1155/2014/901901. Epub 2014 Feb 4.
• Algarni AM, Guyatt GH, Turner A, Alamri S. Antibiotic prophylaxis for corneal abrasion. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022 May 27;5(5):CD014617. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD014617.pub2.

Drugs

Indications