Purpose:
To evaluate epidemiologic, clinical and prognostic features of patients with penetrating eye injuries under 16 years, treated and followed in our clinic.
Method:
Forty six children treated and followed in our clinic for penetrating eye injuries between September 2005 and September 2007 were included in this study. Age, sex, trauma time, type and localization, visual acuity and accompanying ocular findings were assessed in all patients. After primary suturation oral and topical antibiotics, topical steroids and cyclopentolate drops were prescribed. Visual acuity, intraocular pressure, anterior and posterior segments were examined postoperatively.
Results:
Thirty boys and 16 girls were followed up for 9±4.3 months (5-21 mo.). The mean age was 7.7 years old and 56.5% were under 7. The most common agents causing penetrating trauma were metallic tools like knife, scissors and needle (50%). Sharp ended tools like pencil, wood and thorn were the second most common cause (28.2%), followed by glass objects (21.3%). Injuries mostly occurred at home (58.7%) and caused corneal lacerations (54.3%). Accompanying ocular findings included traumatic cataract (43.4%), iris/choroidal prolapse (30.4%), hyphema (19.6%) and retinal detachment (23.9%). Visual acuities (VA) were able to be assessed in 34 patients. VA increased in 21 patients (61.7%), remained the same in ten patients (29.4%) and decreased in 3 (8.8%) patients.
Discussion:
Long term outcomes of penetrating eye injuries are usually poor in children. Education of the patients by defining the potential risks and avoiding these should be a part of preventive medicine. Thereby the frequency of eye injuries causing severe visual losses might be decreased.
Keywords: Childhood eye injuries, epidemiology, prognosis