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The aetiology of perforating ocular injuries in children
C G Thompson1, N Kumar, F A Billson
1Port Macquarie Eye Centre, NSW, Australia. csthompson@bigpond.com
Insights
Childhood perforating ocular injuries most often happen at home due to sharp tools or thrown objects. Prevention efforts must focus on educating children and caregivers about home safety to reduce these serious eye injuries.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatric Ophthalmology
- Trauma Surgery
Background:
- Perforating ocular injuries in children are a significant cause of vision loss.
- Understanding the specific causes and outcomes is crucial for developing effective prevention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify etiological factors of perforating ocular injuries in children.
- To evaluate the visual outcomes following such injuries in an urban pediatric population.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of medical records for children (<16 years) with perforating ocular injuries.
- Data collected over a 17-year period at a single pediatric hospital.
Main Results:
- 72 cases identified; common causes include sharp tools (17%) and thrown objects (17%).
- Most injuries occurred at home (58%), particularly in the 3-6 year age group (32%). Males were more affected (48% vs 24%).
- Final visual acuity was ≥6/12 in 36% and <6/60 in 31%; 8% required enucleation.
Conclusions:
- Perforating ocular injuries in children predominantly occur in domestic settings.
- Education on home safety, focusing on sharp tools and projectiles, is vital for injury prevention.
Aims:
To assess the aetiological factors associated with the occurrence of perforating ocular injuries in children in an urban setting and to assess the visual outcomes of such injuries.
Methods:
All cases of perforating ocular injury presenting to a single paediatric hospital (age less than 16 years) over a 17 year period were identified by a medical record search. All new cases of perforating ocular injury identified were included. All information was obtained retrospectively from the medical records.
Results:
There were 72 cases identified. The commonest causes of perforating ocular injury were sharp tools (knives/scissors) poked by the child into his/her own eye (17%), or objects thrown at the child (17%). Injuries were most likely to have occurred at home (58%). The age range for injuries was 8 months to 14 years 8 months. Perforating ocular injury was most frequent in the 3-6 year group (32%) followed by the 6-9 year group (25%). Males were more frequently involved than females (48-24). There was no correlation between the laterality of the eye, the time of day of the occurrence, or the day of the week of the occurrence. The final acuity achieved was better or equal to 6/12 in 36% and less than 6/60 in 31%. Injuries occurred more frequently on weekends than on weekdays. There were six enucleations (8%). Follow up was for an average period of 25 months.
Conclusions:
Penetrating ocular injury occurs most frequently in the home setting and mostly as the result of the use of sharp tools or by thrown objects. Prevention of penetrating ocular injury requires greater education of children and their carers especially on the potential dangers within the home.
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