Accidental macular injury from short-term exposure to a handheld high-intensity LED light

OBJECTIVE: To report a case of macular injury caused by short-term exposure to a handheld high-intensity light emitting diode (LED) light. DESIGN: Interventional case report. PARTICIPANT: A patient with macular injury caused by short-term exposure to the light of a handheld high-intensity LED device. INTERVENTION: The patient was examined and followed for 3 months after exposure with ophthalmologic examinations (including funduscopy, optical coherence tomography [OCT], fluorescein angiography [FA], and multifocal electroretinography [mfERG]). The injured eye was treated with one retrobulbar injection of 20 mg triamcinolone acetonide at 5 days after exposure. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Visual acuity, ophthalmoscopic, and OCT findings. RESULTS: 3 days after exposure, the best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of the right eye was 6/20. OCT revealed the acute stage of the injury with eminence of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). BCVA was improved to 16/20 and 20/20 at 19 and 33 days after exposure, respectively. OCT results of follow-ups at five days, 19 days, 33 days and 3 months after exposure have demonstrated the restoration process of the injury. CONCLUSIONS: Short-term exposure to high-intensity LED light may cause damage to the retina. As the expansion of LED use in modern life, education and supervision are of urgent need for public health.