Keywords: Corneal Ulcer/diagnosis/methods;
J Comm Eye Health 1999;12(30): 24
CORNEAL ULCER: APPENDIX
Corneal scrape
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The procedure is explained to the patient.
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The patient is positioned comfortably at the slit-lamp.
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The patient must be instructed to keep both eyes open during the procedures as blinking will only add to discomfort.
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Local anaesthetic eye drops are instilled to the affected eye to minimise ocular discomfort and facilitate the corneal scraping procedure.
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A sterile platinum loop or a sterile needle is used to scrape the base of the ulcer with care. This is to ensure that the infective material is reached as the micro-organisms may lie deep or at the edge of the ulcer.
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The collected material is plated on the growth media and/or carefully spread on a glass slide. The area around the material is marked with a permanent marker if a Gram staining test has been requested.
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At the end of the procedure, the patient is given instruction in appropriate care, i.e., handwashing, lid hygiene and instillation of an antibiotic.
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All specimens are clearly and correctly labelled before being sent to the microbiological laboratory.
