Sharifi Ali, Sharifi Hamid, Karamouzian Mohammad, Mokhtari Mahmoud, Esmaeili Hamidreza Hosein, Nejad Afshin Sarafi, Rahmatian Mohammad
Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
Middle East Afr J Ophthalmol. 2013 Oct-Dec;20(4):336-40. doi: 10.4103/0974-9233.120023.
The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence of topical ocular anesthetic abuse among welders in Iran and suggest public health solutions for this issue.
In this cross-sectional study, 390 welders were randomly recruited and queried on the use of anesthetic drops. A questionnaire was administered through structured one-on-one interviews conducted by the first author.
A total of 314 welders (80.5%) declared that they had used topical anesthetics at least once during their working lives. Almost 90% of them stated a preference for self-treatment over seeking help from a physician due to cultural and financial reasons. The most commonly used topical anesthetic was tetracaine. Most of the subjects (97.4%) had obtained the drugs from pharmacies without a prescription.
The prevalence of topical ocular anesthetic abuse among welders in Iran is alarmingly high and may partially be due to cultural issues. Although most physicians are aware that topical anesthetics should only be used as a diagnostic tool, there is a crucial need to re-emphasize the ocular risks associated with chronic use of these medications. Educational programs for both physicians and the public are necessary to address the problem.
本研究旨在评估伊朗焊工局部眼部麻醉剂滥用的患病率，并针对该问题提出公共卫生解决方案。
在这项横断面研究中，随机招募了390名焊工，并询问他们使用麻醉滴眼液的情况。问卷通过第一作者进行的结构化一对一访谈来发放。
共有314名焊工（80.5%）宣称他们在工作期间至少使用过一次局部麻醉剂。由于文化和经济原因，近90%的人表示更倾向于自我治疗而非寻求医生帮助。最常用的局部麻醉剂是丁卡因。大多数受试者（97.4%）从药店无处方获取药物。
伊朗焊工中局部眼部麻醉剂滥用的患病率高得惊人，部分原因可能是文化问题。尽管大多数医生都知道局部麻醉剂仅应用作诊断工具，但仍迫切需要再次强调长期使用这些药物相关的眼部风险。针对医生和公众开展教育项目对于解决该问题很有必要。
