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  • Respiratory Droplets Transmitted During Slit-Lamp Exams

    By Lynda Seminara
    Selected By: Richard K. Parrish II, MD
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    Journal Highlights

    American Journal of Ophthalmology, February 2021

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    Shah et al. constructed a simulated slit-lamp examination to evaluate the effec­tiveness of personal protective equip­ment worn during the exam. They found that wearing a mask reduced the spread of simulated respiratory droplets—and that adding a slit-lamp shield provided extra protection.

    For this study, the researchers used a pressurized spray canister to simulate both patient breathing and coughing. The canister contained fluorescent material, which was sprayed and then viewed using a handheld ultraviolet flashlight. The researchers measured the velocity and distance of particle emissions for “breathing” and “cough­ing”—and then assessed the ability of surgical masks and slit-lamp shields to block the droplets. (Model 3D printed heads served as stand-ins for human patients and clinicians.)

    Without a slit-lamp shield or masks in place, the fluorescent droplets were widely dispersed. With both the cough­ing and breathing simulations, drop­let dispersion was lowest when both patients and clinicians wore masks; however, particles still escaped from the top of the patient’s mask, lateral to the nose. Although the slit-lamp shield blocked most of the dispersed particles, a substantial amount reached the slit-lamp joystick and table.

    The original article can be found here.