Visual outcomes of open globe injury patients with traumatic cataracts

Open globe injury (OGI) is a serious form of ocular trauma that can significantly lower quality of life post-injury due to comorbidities. This study was designed to investigate how traumatic cataracts and other pre-operative variables affect visual outcomes of OGIs.

A retrospective review was conducted for OGI patient records with presence of traumatic cataracts, visual outcomes, comorbidity data and provider training. Multivariable logistic regression analysis determined if several pre-operative variables including traumatic cataracts, retinal detachment and hyphema were predictive of final visual acuity and need for retinal surgery. Ancillary multivariable analysis was conducted to evaluate if timing of traumatic cataract extraction predicted poor final visual acuity.

Multivariable logistic regression analysis did not find traumatic cataract to be an independent predictor of final visual outcome in the open globe injury sample population (n = 102, p = 0.386), but did find retinal detachment (p = 0.008), hyphema (p = 0.035) and scleral laceration (p = 0.009) to be independent predictors of poor final visual acuity. In the subgroup of eyes with traumatic cataract (n = 64), delayed cataract extraction was not found to be an independent predictor of poor final visual acuity (p = 0.156).

Our results suggest that retinal detachment, hyphema, and scleral laceration influence final visual outcome while traumatic cataract does not. Within the subpopulation of patients that received lens extraction, timing of extraction was not found to independently influence final visual acuity.