Abstract Precis: During the 4 years of this study, we noted 66 cases of alkali ocular burns, or approximately 16 cases per year, nearly half (45.5%) of which are due to an assault. For grade 1 and 2 burns the time elapsed to reepithelialization appears to be shorter when rinsed with Diphoterine* versus physiological solution. Purpose: Comparison of the effectiveness of two rinsing solutions for emergency use: a physiological solution and an amphoteric solution (Diphoterine*, Laboratories Prevor, Valmondois, France). Description of the clinical and progressive characteristics of alkali burns treated at the University Hospital Center of Fort de France in Martinique (French West Indies). Design: Prospective consecutive observational case series and nonrandomized comparative study. Participants: Sixty-six patients were included. The total number of burned eyes is 104. Forty-eight eyes (46%) were rinsed with physiological solution and 56 eyes (54%) with Diphoterine*. Methods: All patients benefited from an ocular rinse with 500 ml of physiological solution or Diphoterine*, followed by a complete ophthalmologic exam. The ocular injuries were classified according to the Roper-Hall modification of the Hughes classification system. The same standardized therapeutic protocol was applied and adapted to the seriousness of the burn. Main outcome measures: Demographic data, time to corneal reepithelialization, final best corrected visual acuity and complications were analysed. Results: Twenty-eight (42.4%) patients have a unilateral burn and 38 (57.6%) patients have bilateral burns. In decreasing order of frequency, the circumstances surrounding the injury are: assaults in 45.5% of cases (n = 30), work-related accidents in 32% of cases (n = 31), and domestic accidents in 23% of cases (n = 15). For grade 1 and 2 burns the time elapsed to reepithelialization appears to be shorter when rinsed with Diphoterine* versus physiological solution (respectively): 1.9 AE 1 days versus 11.1 AE 1.4 days (p = 10 À7 ) and 5.6 AE 4.9 days versus 10 AE 9.2 days (p = 0.02). For grade 3 and 4 burns, there are complications in 11 cases (11.6%): 8 corneal opacities and 3 perforations. Conclusions: This study is the first conducted in humans that takes into account the type of ocular rinse product used in the progressive follow-up study of injuries. The time elapsed to reepithelialization is shorter with Diphoterine* for grade 1 and 2 burns. There are not enough cases of grade 3 and 4 burns to make a conclusion. Diphoterine* seems very effective in terms of its mechanism of action and the experimental and clinical results
