This is a 28-year-old patient, with no notable pathological history, who suffered a base burn (sodium bicarbonate) while on duty, and who consulted us for a unilateral drop in visual acuity.

On admission two hours after the burn, the left eye was found to be red and painful, with a drop in visual acuity estimated at 04/10. In the right eye, visual acuity was 10/10 on a painless white eye.

On examination, the right eye is normal. In the left eye, there was diffuse conjunctival redness, a corneal opacity taking up the 3⁄4 nasal of the cornea from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., the edges of which were positive for fluorcein. A peri-lesional edema is also noted.

The rest of the anterior segment examination is normal. The fundus was also unremarkable.

Management consisted of abundant saline lavage, artificial tears, local antibiotic therapy and nocturnal application of healing ointment.

Three weeks later, visual acuity improved to 8/10, and corneal opacity diminished or even  disappeared. This article highlights the importance of early and appropriate management of ocular burns to improve patient prognosis.

Figure 1: On admission 

Figure 2: Progress under treatment