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Toxic anterior segment syndrome—More than sterility meets the eye
Author(s) -
Johnston Janet
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
aorn journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1878-0369
pISSN - 0001-2092
DOI - 10.1016/s0001-2092(06)63994-x
Subject(s) - medicine , endophthalmitis , complication , surgery , anterior eye segment , sterility , ophthalmology , genetics , cornea , biology
• TOXIC ANTERIOR SEGMENT SYNDROME (TASS) is a rare, potentially devastating complication of routine intraocular surgery that occurs when a noninfectious toxic agent enters the anterior segment of the eye, causing an inflammatory reaction. • SEVERE CASES OF TASS can cause permanent harm, and if symptoms still are present after six weeks, the eye is not likely to recover. • EARLY DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT are effective in preventing permanent damage, but often TASS is mistakenly diagnosed as infectious endophthalmitis for which treatment is completely different. • THE CAUSES AND TREATMENT of TASS are discussed, and risk reduction strategies are described. AORN J 84 (December 2006) 968–984. © AORN, Inc, 2006.