Perioperative nursing outcomes and management strategies in cold plasma ablation for superficial corneal disorders.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the clinical outcomes and perioperative nursing outcomes of low-temperature plasma ablation (LTPA) for the treatment of superficial corneal diseases.

METHODS

This retrospective study analyzed 38 patients who underwent LTPA between June 2022 and January 2024. Patients were grouped by etiology into refractive/structural (n = 30) and infectious (n = 8) categories. Clinical outcomes, epithelial healing time, complications, pain scores, and digital slit-lamp image-based healing assessments were observed and compared between the two groups. Pain intensity was longitudinally monitored using visual analog scale (VAS) scores and analyzed via two-way repeated measures ANOVA. Perioperative nursing strategies and patient-reported satisfaction were also evaluated.

RESULTS

The study population consisted of 38 patients (including 16 males and 22 females), with a mean age of 51.97 ± 2.36 years (range: 22-87 years). Patients in the infectious group exhibited significantly longer epithelial healing times compared to those in the noninfectious group (p = 0.040). Recurrence within 3 months was significantly more frequent in the infectious group (25.0%, n = 2/8 vs. 0%, n = 0/30; p = 0.005) and was associated with lower nursing satisfaction scores (p < 0.001). Two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed that VAS pain scores were consistently higher in the infectious group across all time points (F = 20.33, p < 0.001), although both groups demonstrated a significant downward trend over time (F = 241.10, p < 0.001). Quantitative analysis based on digital slit-lamp imaging facilitated the clinical observation delayed epithelial healing in 5 patients (13.2%), thereby facilitating early clinical intervention. No severe postoperative complications were reported.

CONCLUSION

LTPA appears to be a feasible and well-tolerated approach for treating superficial corneal disorders, associated with preliminary outcomes being observed across both infectious and noninfectious etiologies. These findings suggest that perioperative nursing protocols and digital image-based monitoring may support objective healing tracking and enhance patient care, although these observational results require prospective validation.