comparing the preventive effect of adhesive tape and eye ointment on eye dryness and corneal abrasion in icu patients

comparing the preventive effect of adhesive tape and eye ointment on eye dryness and corneal abrasion in icu patients     sharifi tabar z [1] , shaeri m [2] , nazari r [3] , adib hajbagari m [4] , masoudi alvi n [5]     received: 29 feb , 2012 accepted: 04 jun , 2012     abstract   background & aims : eye complications are common in intensive care units’ patients. different methods are recommended to prevent these complications. in this research the preventive effects of eye lubricant ointment and adhesive tape on eye-dryness and corneal abrasion were compared. the study carried on 87 icu patients at shariati hospital in tehran and shahid beheshti hospital in kashan.   materials & methods : the patients randomly recruited in 3 groups of adhesive tape, eye lubricant ointment and control group. the eye care implemented, afterward the eye dryness and corneal abrasion were examined on the first and fifth days. the data analyzed using spss software and qhi-square, kruskal wallis and wilcoxon statistical tests.   result : although the difference in eye-dryness and corneal abrasion was not statistically significant, the incidence of corneal abrasion was twice in adhesive tape group. on the fifth day, 38 patients (43. 7%) had eye dryness and 12 patients (13. 8%) had corneal abrasion. the odds-ratio of eye-dryness on occurrence of corneal abrasion was 19. 5.   conclusion: the eye lubricant ointment is a preferred method on prevention of eye dryness and corneal abrasion in icu patients.   keywords: eye-dryness, corneal abrasion, intensive care units (icu).     address: kashan, ghotb ravandi boulevard, faculty of nursing and midwifery, kashan university of medical sciences, department of medical surgical   tel: (+98) 9133723872,361-5550021,fax: 361-5556633   email: alavi. negin@yahoo. com , masudialavi_n@kaums. ac. iir   [1] msc in critical care nursing , department of medical surgical faculty of nursing and midwifery, student   research committee, kashan university of medical sciences, kashan.   [2] assistant professor, ophthalmologist, kashan university of medical sciences, kashan.   [3] ophthalmologist, corneal specialist, khatam-ol-anbia hospital, tehran.   [4] associate professor, phd in nursing, department of medical surgical, kashan university of medical sciences, kashan.   [5] associate professor, phd in nursing, faculty of nursing and midwifery , injury center for nursing researc,kashan university of medical sciences, kashan, (corresponding author)*