Chi Mei Medical Center, Department of Ophthalmology, Tainan, Taiwan.
Chi Mei Medical Center, Division of Hospital Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Tainan, Taiwan.
West J Emerg Med. 2024 May;25(3):368-373. doi: 10.5811/westjem.17882.
Photokeratoconjunctivitis (PKC) is primarily caused by welding. However, inappropriate use of germicidal lamps, which have been widely used following the COVID-19 outbreak, can also cause PKC. Our goal in this study was to investigate the incidence of and changes in the causes of PKC during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
We conducted a single-center, retrospective observational study. The health records of patients who visited the emergency department in a tertiary care hospital from January 1, 2018-December 31, 2021 and were diagnosed with PKC, were reviewed. We then conducted an analysis to compare the characteristics of PKC before and after COVID-19 began and the features of PKC caused by welding and germicidal lamps.
There were 160 PKC cases with a clear etiology before the COVID-19 pandemic and 147 cases during the COVID-19 pandemic. No significant differences in age and gender were detected between the two groups. The incidence of PKC induced by the use of germicidal lamps during the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly higher (10.2%) than the incidence before the pandemic (3.1%). The ratio of females to males in the germicidal lamp subgroup was significantly higher than the ratio in the welding subgroup. Limitations included incomplete information due to the retrospective nature of the study, underestimation of incidence, and possible recall bias.
In the era of COVID-19, clinicians should be aware of the hazards of germicidal lamps. Although the COVID-19 pandemic seems to show signs of easing, new infectious diseases that require protective measures could still emerge in the future. Therefore, injuries related to germicidal lamps deserve more public health attention.
光性角膜炎（PKC）主要由焊接引起。然而，在 COVID-19 爆发后广泛使用的杀菌灯如果使用不当，也会导致 PKC。我们在这项研究中的目标是研究 COVID-19 大流行期间 PKC 的发病率和病因变化。
我们进行了一项单中心、回顾性观察性研究。回顾了 2018 年 1 月 1 日至 2021 年 12 月 31 日期间在一家三级护理医院急诊科就诊并被诊断为 PKC 的患者的健康记录。然后，我们进行了一项分析，以比较 COVID-19 开始前后 PKC 的特征以及由焊接和杀菌灯引起的 PKC 的特征。
在 COVID-19 大流行之前有 160 例病因明确的 PKC 病例，在 COVID-19 大流行期间有 147 例。两组之间在年龄和性别方面无显著差异。COVID-19 大流行期间由使用杀菌灯引起的 PKC 发病率（10.2%）明显高于大流行前（3.1%）。杀菌灯亚组中女性与男性的比例明显高于焊接亚组。局限性包括由于研究的回顾性，信息不完整，发病率低估和可能的回忆偏倚。
在 COVID-19 时代，临床医生应意识到杀菌灯的危害。尽管 COVID-19 大流行似乎有缓解的迹象，但未来仍可能出现需要采取保护措施的新传染病。因此，与杀菌灯有关的伤害值得引起更多的公共卫生关注。
