Ocular trauma: one in the eye for safety glasses

Over a 3-month-period, a prospective study was performed on patients presenting with eye injuries to an Accident and Emergency Department. Two hundred and forty-five patients presented, representing 3.7% of total new patients seen in that period. The majority of injuries (81%) occurred in the workplace, injuries associated with grinding (32%) being the commonest. Retained foreign body (52%) was the most common injury. Eye protection was provided in 64% of cases, but only used in 48.5% of these. Seventy-eight per cent of cases were discharged without follow-up. The use of goggles appeared to provide the greatest degree of protection.