AORN Journal
Volume 84, Issue 6 , Pages 967-984, December 2006

Toxic anterior segment syndrome—More than sterility meets the eye

  • Janet Johnston, RN

      Affiliations

    • Janet Johnston, RN, MSN, JD, is a clinical analyst at the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System, Plymouth Meeting, Pa.

ABSTRACT 

•TOXIC ANTERIOR SEGMENT SYNDROME (TASS) is a rare, potentially devastating complication of routine intraocular surgery that occurs when a noninfectious toxic agent enters the anterior segment of the eye, causing an inflammatory reaction.

•SEVERE CASES OF TASS can cause permanent harm, and if symptoms still are present after six weeks, the eye is not likely to recover.

•EARLY DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT are effective in preventing permanent damage, but often TASS is mistakenly diagnosed as infectious endophthalmitis for which treatment is completely different.

•THE CAUSES AND TREATMENT of TASS are discussed, and risk reduction strategies are described. AORN J 84 (December 2006) 968–984. © AORN, Inc, 2006.

 

 This program meets criteria for CNOR and CRNFA recertification, as well as other continuing education requirements.A minimum score of 70% on the multiple-choice examination is necessary to earn 4.0 contact hours for this independent study.One contact hour is equal to 50 minutes.Purpose/Goal: To educate perioperative nurses about treating and preventing toxic anterior segment syndrome.

PII: S0001-2092(06)63994-X

doi:10.1016/S0001-2092(06)63994-X

AORN Journal
Volume 84, Issue 6 , Pages 967-984, December 2006

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