Ocular trauma: A tertiary hospital experience from Oman

To describe the epidemiology of ocular trauma in a tertiary hospital setting in Muscat, Oman.

Medical records of all cases of ocular trauma which presented to the Emergency Department at Al-Nahdha Hospital and were seen by the ophthalmology service from January 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013 (6 months) were reviewed to collect data on ocular trauma according to the World Eye Injury Registry initial reporting form which uses the Birmingham Eye Trauma Terminology System.

There were 27,951 patients seen at the Emergency Department and 611 of which were ocular trauma cases (cumulative incidence 2.2% [confidence interval 2.0-2.4]). The mean age of the patients was 23 years and males comprised the majority of the cases (72%). Thirty-two patients had bilateral injury giving a total of 643 eyes injured. More than half of all injuries were caused by either blunt or large sharp objects. The cornea was the most frequently injured tissue (49%), but most injuries were minor in nature. More than three quarters (77%) of all eyes had a visual acuity of 0.3 (LogMAR) or better on presentation. There were 35 eyes (6%) with open globe injuries (OGI) and three-quarters of them occurring in the manual laborers.

Ocular trauma is a common presentation at Al-Nahdha Hospital. Although the majority of trauma cases were minor without any visual disability sequelae, OGI could have been prevented with better ocular protection in the workplace.