Optical coherence tomography analysis of hydrofluoric acid decontamination of human cornea by mannitol solution

Abstract Purpose To evaluate the efficacy of mannitol solution as a decontamination agent on the chemical burn of the human corneas. Methods Eight donor corneas from an eye bank were exposed to 25 μl of 2.5% hydrofluoric acid (HF) solution on a filter paper for 20 s. Three eyes were rinsed with 1000 ml of mannitol 20% for 15 min immediately after removal of the filter paper, 3 other were rinsed with sodium chloride (NaCl) 0.9% (1000 ml for 15 min) and two eyes were not rinsed. Microstructural changes were monitored in the time domain by optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging for 75 min. Results NaCl reduced the penetration depth to approximately half the thickness of the cornea at 15 min; scattering within the anterior cornea was higher than that for the unrinsed eye. With mannitol, no increased scattering was observed in the posterior part of the corneal stroma within a time period of 1 h after rinsing. OCT images revealed low-scattering intensity within the anterior stroma at the end of the rinsing period. Conclusion In eye bank human corneas, mannitol proved to be an efficient agent to decontaminate HF burn.