The Slit Lamp Made Simple

​The slit lamp is a straightforward and user-friendly machine designed to make ocular exams easy. All the buttons, knobs, and lights, however, can be intimidating. This should not dissuade practitioners from getting cozy, driving the joystick, and evaluating ocular issues.An ED slit lamp with an LED light and magnification power up to 40x. Photo by M. Roberts.ED slit lamps are designed to be a bit more basic in function than those found in an ophthalmologist's office. Many EDs may house more complex machinery, but the vast majority of microscope and light arm combination is set at one length with one lens and one to two magnification options. Machines may be equipped with several filters (blue, red-free, green, gray), but cobalt blue is really the only one you need to rule out corneal abrasions. More basic versions of slit lamps in the ED still allow for full corneal and retinal exams.Consider a few things before performing a slit lamp ocular exam:Evaluate the space and lighting in the room. You should be able to darken the room, and make sure you have enough room; the machine often takes up a lot of space next to a stretcher.Check the machine and set up. Test the machine to ensure it turns on, and obtain a wheeled stool for yourself and a chair for the patient.Consider the ability of the patient to participate in the exam. Check the patient's ocular pressure using a tonometry pen before completing a slit lamp exam. See our November 2018 blog post for more tips on how t...
Source: The Procedural Pause - Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs