Effect of Tetracaine on Pain Management and Corneal Healing in Patients With Acute Corneal Abrasion
Status:
Withdrawn
Trial end date:
2015-08-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Corneal abrasions are associated with significant discomfort during a 24-48 hrs healing
phase. Current practice guidelines discourage the use of topical anesthetics in treating
these patients due to concerns that these medications may prevent proper corneal epithelial
healing. These concerns are based primarily on decades old animal based research. However,
recent evidence suggests topical anaesthetics are a safe and effective way of managing
patient pain in the short term. This study will investigate the effect of topical 0.5%
tetracaine on corneal healing and pain management in patients with corneal abrasions in the
first 48 hours.
This will be a prospective, double blind, randomized, controlled study of 260 adults with
uncomplicated acute corneal injuries presenting to the tertiary acute care settings in
Kingston. Patients will be randomly assigned to receive either 0.5% tetracaine or saline in
addition to usual care as outpatients. They will be followed through the ophthalmology
emergency eye clinic to assess healing at 36-48hrs. after the acute care visit. The primary
outcome will be an assessment of pain as measured every 4 hours for 48 hrs. using a 10mm
Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Secondary outcomes will include assessments of corneal healing,
use of adjunct pain medications, time lost from work/usual activities, quality of sleep,
ability to read and the SF12 quality of life questionnaire.
This study will better inform the safety and effectiveness of short-term tetracaine usage in
patients with simple corneal abrasions for optimal treatment of patients in the future.