Impact of Polyethylene Eye Covers Dressing On Preventing Corneal Complications On Critically Ill Patients At Assiut University Hospital

Abstract

Prevention of corneal complications for intensive care unit patients is effective way to avoid corneal damage. Polyethylene covering is transparent dressing creates moist chamber providing a barrier against tear-film evaporation and providing physical barrier to organisms Aim: this study was carried out to investigate the impact of polyethylene eye covers dressing on preventing corneal complications. Design: A quasi-experimental design. Setting: Trauma Intensive Care Unit at Assiut University Hospital. Subjects: A convenience sample of 120 eyes of 60 adults patients divided into study and control groups (30 patient for each). Tools: tool I Patient assessment sheet. Tool II: Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale. Tool III: Eye assessment tool. Tool IV: Eye care technique, eye lid closure and eye cover by using polyethylene eye cover. Methods: Researcher assessed each patient's eye and ability to maintain eyelid closure. Then, eye care technique was applied, eye lid closure and eye cover by using polyethylene cover to each patient's eye for preventing corneal complications. Results: Finding of present study revealed that there was significant statistical difference between both study and control groups in 7 th day in relation to corneal ulcer in right eye and left eye ( P = 0.001& 0.000) respectively .Conclusion: eye lid closure and eye cover by using polyethylene eye cover could be significantly effective in preventing corneal complications.

The effect of polyethylene cover intervention on ocular surface disorder of intensive care unit patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The findings from this study confirmed the effectiveness of polyethylene covers compared to eye drops in preventing ocular surface diseases [ 6 , 17 , 18 , 34 ]. However, this finding was contrary to the results reported by Nikseresht (2019) [ 28 ] possibility due to the differences in the age and physical conditions of patients, their length of hospital stay, the dose of anesthetics received, and the type of patients admitted to the intensive care unit.…”

“…A polyethylene cover is approximately 0.01 mm thick, easily adheres to surfaces [ 12 , 16 ], protects the eyes by creating a moist chamber, prevents the evaporation of tears, keeps the eye surface naturally moist, and prevents microorganisms from entering the eye, especially during suctioning and feeding through a nasogastric tube (NGT) [ 8 ]. These easy-to-use covers prevent possible corneal complications and keep the eyes clean and closed [ 17 ].…”

“…Unfortunately, healthcare professionals in different countries use different criteria when selecting eye care interventions in ICUs [ 3 , 8 ]. Various studies have warned that eye care regimens are not always safe and there is no adequate evidence for the best eye care interventions [ 9 , 16 , 17 ].…”

Development and Validation of Eyes Care Bundle for Mechanically Ventilated Patients

“…Patients on mechanical ventilation who use sedatives or neuromuscular blocking drugs are more likely to have a corneal problem due to weakened defenses. The research results of Hearne,3 Kuruvilla,33 and Atia34 supported the association between the length of mechanical ventilation and the emergence of eye problems. The association between sedative use and a higher risk of ocular surface conditions.…”

“…This agrees with Atiaa et al, who studied the impact of polyethylene eye covers dressing on preventing corneal complications on critically ill patients and documented that polyethylene eye cover created a moist chamber and provided a barrier against tear-film evaporation. 34 Many studies 8,11,14,18,19 have documented that PCs were more effective in reducing the incidence of corneal complications in intensive care patients in comparison with other methods, and PC and simple eye ointment are recommended as effective EC methods in ICU. This is reinforced by the findings of Alansari et al,…”