Nursing interventions to prevent corneal injury in critically ill sedated and mechanically ventilated patients: A systematic review of interventions

• Published in: Intensive & critical care nursing 2023-10, Vol.78, p.103447-103447, Article 103447
• Main Authors: do Prado, Patrícia Rezende, Silveira, Renata Cristina Campos Pereira, Vettore, Mario Vianna, Fossum, Mariann, Vabo, Grete Lund, Gimenes, Fernanda Raphael Escobar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anesthesia; Bias; Caribbean literature; Citation management software; Clinical medicine; Clinical trials; Cohort analysis; Consciousness; Cornea; Corneal injuries; Critical care; Evidence-based nursing; Extraction; Health sciences; Injuries; Intervention; Lubricants & lubrication; Mechanical ventilation; Nurses; Nursing; Nursing care; Ostomy; Polyethylene; Prevention; Prevention and control; Quality assessment; Research methodology; Risk assessment; Systematic review; Ventilators
• ISSN: 0964-3397; 1532-4036
• DOI: 10.1016/j.iccn.2023.103447

To identify the effectiveness of interventions to prevent corneal injury in critically ill, sedated, and mechanically ventilated patients. A systematic review of intervention studies was conducted in the following electronic databases: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences, LIVIVO, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science, and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Study selection and data extraction were performed by two independent reviewers. Quality assessment of the randomized and non-randomized studies was performed using the Risk of Bias (RoB 2.0) and ROBINS-I Cochrane tools, respectively, and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for cohort studies. The certainty of the evidence was assessed according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system. 15 studies were included. Meta-analysis showed that the risk of corneal injury in the lubricants group was 66% lower (RR = 0.34; 95 %CI: 0.13–0.92) than in the eye-taping group. The risk of corneal injury in the polyethylene chamber was 68% lower than in the eye ointment group (RR = 0.32; 95 %CI 0.07–1.44). The risk of bias was low in most of the studies included and the certainty of the evidence was evaluated. The most effective interventions to prevent corneal injury in critically ill sedated mechanically ventilated, who have compromised blinking and eyelid closing mechanisms, are ocular lubrication, preferably gel or ointment, and protection of the corneas with a polyethylene chamber. Critically ill, sedated, and mechanically ventilated patients who have compromised blinking and eyelid closing mechanisms must receive interventions to prevent corneal injury. Ocular lubrication, preferably gel or ointment, and protection of the corneas with a polyethylene chamber were the most effective interventions to prevent corneal injury in critically ill, sedated, and mechanically ventilated patients. A polyethylene chamber must be made commercially available for critically ill, sedated, and mechanically ventilated patients.