Suh Alex, Szeto Jonathan J, Ong Joshua, Armstrong Grayson W, Robert Gibson C, Mader Thomas H, Lipsky William, Waisberg Ethan, Berdahl John, Hinkle David M, Lee Andrew G
Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, United States; University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
Surv Ophthalmol. 2025 Jul 16. doi: 10.1016/j.survophthal.2025.07.006.
Long-duration spaceflight missions (including the International Space Station [ISS]) are in one of the most remote and harsh environments humans live and work in. Medical emergencies in space are even more complicated in an already high-risk environment. Despite training, ISS crewmembers face many challenges in diagnosing and managing disease with limited diagnostic capability and equipment on the ISS, restricted medication availability, delayed access to medical professionals; and the latency of space missions. Ocular trauma (e.g., cabin contact with equipment, chemical exposure, and foreign body entry) has been well-documented in previous ISS missions, highlighting the vulnerability of crewmembers' vision. While no serious vision loss has yet occurred, the risk of ocular injuries during future commercial and lunar missions remains significant. We review the utilization of onboard diagnostic tools and potential management modalities with current ISS resources for mitigating long-term effects of ocular trauma in the unique microgravity environment of spaceflight. We aim to assess the overall medical preparedness for future space exploration to ensure the well-being and ocular health of crewmembers during extended missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
长期太空飞行任务（包括国际空间站[ISS]）处于人类生活和工作的最偏远、最恶劣的环境之一。在本就高风险的环境中，太空医疗紧急情况变得更加复杂。尽管经过了培训，但国际空间站的机组人员在利用国际空间站上有限的诊断能力和设备、有限的药物供应、延迟获得医疗专业人员的帮助以及太空任务的延迟来诊断和治疗疾病方面面临许多挑战。眼部创伤（例如，在舱内与设备接触、化学物质暴露和异物进入）在以往的国际空间站任务中已有充分记录，凸显了机组人员视力的脆弱性。虽然尚未发生严重的视力丧失，但在未来的商业和月球任务中，眼部受伤的风险仍然很大。我们回顾了利用机载诊断工具和国际空间站现有资源的潜在管理方式，以减轻太空飞行独特微重力环境中眼部创伤的长期影响。我们旨在评估未来太空探索的整体医疗准备情况，以确保在前往月球、火星及其他星球的长期任务中机组人员的健康和眼部健康。
