Severe ocular injury resulting from chuna packets

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To describe a mechanism of severe ocular alkali burns occurring as a result of bursting of chuna packets (edible calcium hydroxide paste), a popular additive to chewing tobacco in India. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-one patients (25 eyes) who experienced ocular burns as a result of bursting of chuna packets. INTERVENTION: Patients were treated medically or with 1 or more of the following surgeries: symblepharon release, amniotic membrane grafting, allograft or autograft stem cell transplantation, or both, and large diameter lamellar keratoplasty. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The main outcome measures were time interval between the injury and presentation, pres..