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Toy gun ocular injuries associated with festive holidays in Kuwait
Manal Bouhaimed1, Manar Alwohaib, Shaikhah Alabdulrazzaq
1Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, State of Kuwait. manalbouhaimed@gmail.com
Insights
Toy gun eye injuries in children are a growing concern, causing significant trauma and requiring hospitalization. Prevention strategies and educational programs are crucial to protect children from these preventable injuries.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatric Ophthalmology
- Trauma Surgery
Background:
- Pediatric ocular trauma is a significant cause of preventable blindness globally.
- An increasing prevalence of eye injuries from toy guns in children has been observed.
- This study focuses on ocular trauma specifically caused by toy-gun pellets in Kuwait.
Purpose of the Study:
- To document and analyze cases of ocular trauma resulting from toy-gun pellet injuries in children.
- To highlight the severity and types of injuries sustained.
- To inform public health initiatives for prevention.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective case series design was employed.
- Medical records of pediatric patients admitted for toy-gun pellet eye injuries were reviewed.
- Data was collected over a 7-day period during the Eid el-Fitr holiday season in Kuwait.
Main Results:
- Nineteen children with a mean age of 7.8 years were identified.
- Common anterior segment injuries included lid edema, subconjunctival hemorrhage, corneal abrasion, and abnormal intraocular pressure.
- All patients presented with hyphaema, and one child developed traumatic cataract; final visual acuity varied significantly.
Conclusions:
- Toy gun eye trauma leads to substantial injuries necessitating medical intervention and hospitalization.
- These injuries carry the risk of long-term ocular complications.
- Findings support the need for targeted public health and educational programs to prevent toy gun-related eye injuries.
Background:
Ocular trauma is one of the important causes of preventable blindness and visual impairment among children worldwide. Prevalence of pediatric ocular trauma associated with toy guns appear to be on the rise, although they are fully preventable. The purpose of this study is to report ocular trauma secondary to toy-gun pellets in Kuwait.
Methods:
We conducted a non-comparative case series based on review of the medical records of children who suffered ocular injury from toy-gun pellets and were admitted to a tertiary eye center during a 7-day Eid el-Fitr holiday season in Kuwait.
Results:
A total of 19 children were identified. Mean age was 7.8 years. Mean days of admission per patient was 3.6 days, with a total of 68 days of hospitalization. Variable anterior segment findings were identified, including lid edema, sub-conjunctival hemorrhage, corneal abrasion, and abnormal intraocular pressure. Most notably, different grades of hyphaema were seen in all patients, and traumatic cataract was identified in a 30-month-old child. The final visual acuity was 6/18 or better in nine patients and worse than 6/18 in eight patients.
Conclusions:
Eye trauma with toy guns resulted in significant injuries that required medical intervention and hospitalization for variable lengths of time, with a potential of causing long-term ocular complications. Our findings should assist public health workers in formulating specific prevention strategies, including a health educational program to make parents and health care professionals aware of the potential harm of these toys.
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