Unsuspected paperboard-endophthalmitis in ruptured eye

The eye of a 3-year-old boy was directly exposed to the explosion of an M-80 firecracker which he had been holding in his hand. The cornea and lens were ruptured. Although not evident on an initial CT scan, pathologic examination revealed a paperboard foreign body lodged in the vitreous. This paperboard, rather than the burnt powder, was likely the central focus of the subacute endophthalmitis that developed.