Use of anterior segment optical coherence tomography in corneal injuries

Objective Evaluate the value of anterior segment optical coherence tomography(AS-OCT) for diagnosis and monitoring treatment results in corneal injury cases.Methods We examined 91 eyes of 85 patients with different types of corneal injuries: penetrating injury(56 eyes),contusion(18 eyes),foreign body(10 eyes),and chemical burn(7 eyes).AS-OCT examination was performed at the initial visit,directly after injury,and repeated as treatment progressed.In some cases,corneal pachymetry was evaluated.Results In penetrating eyes,AS-OCT clearly demonstrated the microstructure of the corneal wound after primary repair and revealed 8 cases of incorrect closure of the corneal wound,which were not be detected by slit-lamp examination due to the presence of corneal oedema.In three cases of contusion in post-LASIK eyes,only corneal interface hyper reflection was noticed during slit-lamp examination,whereas AS-OCT revealed interface fluid.AS-OCT was helpful in establishing the localization and size of the transparent/translucent foreign bodies in cornea,while was useless for dense metallic foreign bodies.In patients with acute corneal chemical burns,AS-OCT was valuable for monitoring resolution of the corneal oedema after treatment.AS-OCT was also useful in assessment of the anterior chamber even in presence of corneal opacification after chemical burn.Conclusion AS-OCT can clearly demonstrate the structure of cornea after injuries.It is very useful in dealing with corneal injuries,for early diagnosis and for monitoring treatment progress.