Eyeworld

28 | EYEWORLD | MARCH 2020 N EWS by Vanessa Caceres Contributing Writer to ocular exposures, all of which were part of the National Poison Data System. The latter system is a data warehouse managed by the American Association of Poison Control Centers and is the surveillance da- tabase for 55 U.S. poison control centers. Study authors noted major medical outcomes, reason for exposure, location of exposure, and causative xenobiotic. An average of 95,454 calls were received each year, with the largest number of cases reported in 2011. There was nearly an equal number of calls from men (51%) and women. The highest rates of incidence were in chil- dren under age 5. Year to year, there were fewer incidences of exposure except in those over age 64. The decline in exposure may be connected with improved education and a rise in child-re- sistant containers, the authors wrote. Ocular exposures took place most fre- quently in the subjects' homes (83%). The second most common place of exposure was at school for those under age 18 and at the workplace for those age 18 to 64. Workplace injuries declined with age. Sixty-six percent of cases were man- aged onsite, while nearly a third presented to or were referred to a healthcare facility. Common symptoms associated with expo- sures included eye pain, redness, burns, corneal O cular exposures to dangerous chemicals is most common in chil- dren under age 5, but there is also a growing number among adults age 65 and over, according to calls received to poison control centers reported in a study published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology. 1 Depending on the chemical exposure, a person may experience lifelong vision loss, acute and chronic pain, or higher risk for infec- tion. Additionally, injuries caused by alkali could harm deeper structures in the eye, such as the posterior segment and retina, the researchers noted. Eye injuries cost $300 million annually in lost production time, medical expenses, and worker compensation, the authors reported, citing data from the U.S. Department of Labor. Because of both the potential eye damage and lost productivity, it's important to track what causes ocular exposures due to dangerous chemicals to aid prevention. What the study measured The pooled, cross-sectional retrospective study focused on exposures reported to poison control centers from 2011–2015 in the U.S. During that time, the poison con- trol centers received 477,274 calls related Children, older patients at increased risk for chemical ocular exposure continued on page 30 About the doctors Craig William Heise, MD Division of Medical Toxicology and Precision Medicine Department of Clinical Data Analytics and Decision Support Department of Medicine University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix, Arizona Alena Reznik, MD Southern California Eye Institute at CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center Los Angeles, California Ming Wang, MD Wang Vision 3D Cataract & LASIK Center Nashville, Tennessee According to the study authors, it is difficult to define which skills distinguish the performance seen among the surgeons from that of the non-surgeons when using this sim- ulator. While researchers think that some part of the distinction is probably due to well-honed fine motor skills, learned caution on the part of experienced surgeons may account for further differences in performance. To the extent that practice on this simulator improves these skills, it may prove a valuable tool for training resi- dents in countries that lack access to expensive full-featured simulators, Mr. Young said. The Unity platform proved adequate for the production of simulation software that re- quired sufficiently little processing power to be able to run without detectable latency on older smartphones. However, sensitivity to the task was achievable only in three axes, thereby limit- ing the simulated movement to anteroposterior and lateral directions. The 3D armature was successful in transforming translational move- ment of the simulated phacoemulsification handpiece to rotational movement detectable by the Unity software. continued from page 26 RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

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