Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Feb 16, 2021; 9(5): 1127-1131
Published online Feb 16, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i5.1127
Management of corneal ulceration with a moisture chamber due to temporary lagophthalmos in a brain injury patient: A case report
Xiao-Yan Yu, Lu-Yu Xue, Yun Zhou, Jun Shen, Li Yin
Xiao-Yan Yu, Lu-Yu Xue, Yun Zhou, Jun Shen, Li Yin, Department of Critical Care Medicine, Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China
Author contributions: Yu XY, Xue LY and Zhou Y contributed equally to this work; Yu XY, Xue LY and Zhou Y collected the case data and wrote the report; Shen J collected the medical imaging materials; Yin L reviewed the literature and performed the preliminary revision of the article.
Supported by Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, No. 2016QD03.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Li Yin, MD, Doctor, Department of Critical Care Medicine, Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, No. 12 Middle Urumqi Road, Shanghai 200040, China. yinlimonica@163.com
Received: September 2, 2020
Peer-review started: September 2, 2020
First decision: November 26, 2020
Revised: December 9, 2020
Accepted: December 16, 2020
Article in press: December 16, 2020
Published online: February 16, 2021
Abstract
BACKGROUND

This study describes the use of a moisture chamber to treat corneal ulceration due to temporary lagophthalmos in a critically ill patient.

CASE SUMMARY

A 46-year-old woman was admitted to the intensive care unit after a car accident. She suffered multiple injuries that included brain injury and presented with moderately decreased consciousness and lagophthalmos in her right eye. Within 6 d, her consciousness improved considerably; at which time, exposure keratopathy occurred and worsened to corneal ulceration. Lubricating gel, antibiotic ointment, and bandage contact lens were all ineffective in preventing or treating the exposure keratopathy. Instead of tarsorrhaphy, a moisture chamber was applied which successfully controlled the corneal ulceration. The moisture chamber was discontinued when complete eyelid closure recovered a week later.

CONCLUSION

A moisture chamber may be an effective, noninvasive alternative to tarsorrhaphy for treating severe exposure keratopathy due to temporary lagophthalmos.

Keywords: Exposure keratopathy, Corneal ulceration, Moisture chamber, Lubrication, Bandage contact lens, Case report

Core Tip: Moisture chambers, including moisture chamber spectacles, swimming goggles, and polyethylene covers that cover the area from the eyebrow to the cheek, act as barriers against tear evaporation and provide direct protection of the ocular surface. Here, we report a 46-year-old woman with lagophthalmos in her right eye treated with a moisture chamber, who suffered a brain injury after a car accident. Use of the moisture chamber successfully controlled the corneal ulceration.