Use of the litmus paper in the chemical eye injury
Date First Published:
June 26, 2009
Last Updated:
December 18, 2009
Report by:
Mr. Abdualla zentani, Staff Grade Emergency medicine (Fairfield General Hospital , Bury)
Search checked by:
Jane Burslem, Fairfield General Hospital , Bury
Three-Part Question:
In [patients presenting to the Emergency Department with chemical eye injury ] is [litmus eye paper] [accurate in measuring the eye PH ]?
Clinical Scenario:
A 25 year old factory worker presents to the ED with a history of painful red right eye following chemical exposure at work , the eye ph was checked with the litmus paper which gave reading of ph 7.8, the eye was irrigated thoroughly then the eye ph checked again - which was 7.2. You want to know accuracy of the litmus paper before discharging the patient
Search Strategy:
Medline via OVID interface (1950 – August 2009, week 3)and EMBASE (1980–2009 week 35).
Search Details:
exp Eye OR eye.mp OR exp Tear or tear.mp] AND [litmus.mp] AND [pH.mp OR acid$.mp OR alkali.mp]
Outcome:
No papers were found from either search.
Author Commentary:
Chemical eye injury represents one of the true ophthalmic emergencies which can result from acidic or alkaline compounds. The main aim of the treatment is to maintain the eye pH within the normal limit of 7.0–7.2. Litmus paper is the quickest and easiest way to assess the eye following chemical eye injury.
Bottom Line:
There is no evidence showing whether litmus paper is accurate in assessing eye pH.