Fluorescein has been used for rapid and sensitive detection of fish skin and corneal ulceration. Effective use of the fluorescein test requires knowledge of conditions that might cause misleading interpretations or otherwise interfere with test reliability. Examination of fish health and the clinical workup often require tricaine as one of the most commonly used anesthetics. However, tricaine may interfere with correct interpretation of the fluorescein test and might also cause significant fish injury. The effects of tricaine exposure sequence on the fidelity of the fluorescein test was studied in Pacific halibut Hippoglossus stenolepis, walleye pollock Theragra chalcogramma, and northern rock soles Lepidopsetta polyxystra by examining the fluorescence of experimentally induced epidermal wounding. Tricaine can quench fluorescence that is emitted by fluorescein retained in skin ulcers, causing a false-negative reaction. Thus, for the fluorescein test to work properly, it is important to avoid the exposure of fluorescein-treated and rinsed ulcers to tricaine. The effects of exposure to buffered versus unbuffered tricaine on epidermal and corneal integrity were studied in Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus and channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus subjected to the fluorescein test and histological examination. Fluorescein could detect not only ulcers but also areas with only a partial loss of epithelium (i.e., erosion). The use of unbuffered tricaine to anesthetize these fish caused serious epidermal and corneal damage. If fish are euthanized with unbuffered tricaine for clinical workup, this severe epidermal or corneal damage could be misinterpreted as an antemortem lesion, leading to misdiagnosis. Even in water with alkalinity exceeding 50 mg/L as CaCO3, it would seem prudent to always buffer tricaine with sodium bicarbonate to prevent a pH change that might lead to iatrogenic effects from unbuffered tricaine. Thus, current general recommendations suggesting that tricaine does not need to be buffered in waters with alkalinity greater than 50 mg/L might need to be modified.

中文翻译：

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三卡因对使用荧光素试验检测鱼类皮肤和角膜溃疡的影响

荧光素已被用于快速、灵敏地检测鱼皮和角膜溃疡。荧光素测试的有效使用需要了解可能导致误导性解释或以其他方式干扰测试可靠性的条件。鱼类健康检查和临床检查通常需要三卡因作为最常用的麻醉剂之一。然而，三卡因可能会干扰荧光素测试的正确解释，也可能导致严重的鱼类伤害。通过检查实验诱导的表皮伤口的荧光，研究了三卡因暴露顺序对太平洋比目鱼 Hippoglossus stenolepis、大眼鳕 Theragra chalcogramma 和北岩鳎 Lepidopsetta polyxystra 荧光素测试保真度的影响。Tricaine 可以淬灭保留在皮肤溃疡中的荧光素发出的荧光，导致假阴性反应。因此，为了使荧光素测试正常工作，重要的是避免荧光素处理和冲洗过的溃疡暴露于三卡因。在接受荧光素测试和组织学检查的尼罗罗非鱼 Oreochromis niloticus 和沟鲶 Ictalurus punctatus 中研究了暴露于缓冲与未缓冲三卡因对表皮和角膜完整性的影响。荧光素不仅可以检测溃疡，还可以检测上皮仅部分丢失（即侵蚀）的区域。使用未缓冲的三卡因麻醉这些鱼会导致严重的表皮和角膜损伤。如果用无缓冲的三卡因对鱼进行安乐死以进行临床检查，这种严重的表皮或角膜损伤可能被误解为生前病变，导致误诊。即使在碱度超过 50 mg/L（以 CaCO3 计）的水中，始终用碳酸氢钠缓冲三卡因以防止可能导致未缓冲三卡因引起医源性影响的 pH 变化似乎是谨慎的。因此，目前建议三卡因不需要在碱度大于 50 mg/L 的水中缓冲的一般建议可能需要修改。