Corneal burns: a quantitative comparison of acid and base.

A quantitative comparison is made of the effects of two of the most completely dissociating representatives from the pH spectrum, sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid, on oxygen uptake by the corneal epithelium. Based on initial observations, a 6 to 1 time ratio in the exposure period (acid, 60 seconds; base, 10 seconds) was found necessary to localize and define similar aerobic effects by the 2 agents on their concentration scales. A further dosage adjustment factor was required, a 5/1 concentration ratio of acid to base, to achieve near parity of the major depressive thresholds of those 2 agents, as well as to illustrate in the resulting graphical model several unique features of each in their aerobic effects on corneal tissue at lower concentrations.