Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 13, 2026
A Laser-induced Mouse Model of Chronic Ocular Hypertension to Characterize Visual Defects
Published on: August 14, 2013
Macular injuries secondary to handheld lasers in a paediatric population-clinical characteristics and indicators of
Gerard Reid1, Katherine Shirley2, Rachel Gamble2
1Department of Ophthalmology, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Belfast, UK. gerard.reid@icloud.com.
Insights
Pediatric laser pointer eye injuries are uncommon, with most cases showing visual recovery. Retinal imaging features like foveolar location and disruption of retinal layers predict visual outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Retinal Imaging
- Pediatric Eye Health
Background:
- Laser pointer injuries pose a risk to pediatric vision.
- Understanding incidence and visual outcomes is crucial for this population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the incidence and prevalence of laser-induced retinal injuries in Northern Ireland's pediatric population.
- To identify clinical and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) indicators of poor visual acuity (VA).
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of pediatric retinal injuries from handheld laser pens over six years.
- Collected data included visual acuity, laser source, injury circumstances, fundus photographs, and OCT images.
Main Results:
- Sixty-five pediatric patients (74 eyes) were identified, with males predominating (72%).
- Foveolar location, diffuse morphology, disruption of the external limiting membrane (ELM) and Bruch's membrane/retinal pigment epithelium/Bruch's membrane interface (BM/RPE/IDZ), and intraretinal hemorrhages (ORHs) on OCT significantly impacted presenting VA.
- Eyes with presenting VA ≤0.30 LogMAR showed improvement, with 58% achieving better than 0.30 LogMAR by follow-up.
Conclusions:
- Overall visual loss from pediatric macular laser injuries was low.
- Specific OCT features predict visual acuity outcomes.
- Significant visual recovery is possible even with initial poor visual acuity after macular laser injury.
Background/Objectives:
Aim to identify incidence and prevalence of laser-induced retinal injuries in the Northern Ireland paediatric population and to determine negative clinical and OCT indicators in relation to visual acuity.
Subjects/Methods:
A retrospective analysis was conducted of retinal injuries secondary to handheld laser pens over a 6-year time period with presenting and final visual acuity (VA), laser source and circumstances of the injury recorded. Fundus photographs and OCT images for each case were also collated.
Results:
Sixty-five patients (74 eyes) were identified of which 72% were male and mean age was 11.6 years. 40% of patients were symptomatic. Mean presenting VA was 0.16 LogMAR. VA was ≤0.30 LogMAR in 20 eyes (27%) at presentation. Features which impacted VA to a significant level were foveolar location, diffuse morphology, ELM and BM/RPE/IDZ disruption and ORH presence on presenting OCT images. ORHs or ELM disruption resulted in a significant risk ratio of 3.5 (p = 0.002) and 3.4 (p = <0.001) respectively. Mean presenting VA was demonstrated to improve during follow-up from 0.36 to 0.22 LogMAR (n = 20, p = 0.03). When VA was ≤0.30 LogMAR at presentation, mean presenting VA improved from 0.56 to 0.29 LogMAR (p < 0.01) with 58% of eyes improving to a VA of better than 0.30 LogMAR.
Conclusions:
The overall visual loss from macular laser injuries was low and we have identified features on retinal imaging that significantly impact presenting VA. When VA is affected following macular laser injury there is evidence of recovery with >50% of those presenting with VA ≤ 0.30 LogMAR improving to better than 0.30 LogMAR.
