PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Angela Scarlett
AU  - Paul Gee
TI  - Corneal abrasion and alkali burn secondary to automobile air bag inflation
AID  - 10.1136/emj.2006.045658
DP  - 2007 Oct 01
TA  - Emergency Medicine Journal
PG  - 733--734
VI  - 24
IP  - 10
4099  - http://emj.bmj.com/content/24/10/733.short
4100  - http://emj.bmj.com/content/24/10/733.full
SO  - Emerg Med J2007 Oct 01; 24
AB  - A 59-year-old woman self presented to the emergency department with a painful right eye following a motor vehicle accident. She had reduced visual acuity and the eye had an alkaline pH with complete corneal uptake of fluorescein. Diagnosis of corneal abrasion and alkali burn to her right eye secondary to inflation of a driver’s automobile airbag was made. The eye was irrigated with normal saline. Such injuries, although rare, can easily be identified within the emergency department by the history of exposure, evidence of facial injuries or burns, and an alkaline pH in the inferior cul-de-sac of the eye. Early detection and management with ophthalmology review is therefore imperative to prevent irreversible visual impairment.