Development of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression after open globe injury in adults

To investigate the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression after open globe injury in adults.

A total of 95 participants, 43 adult patients with open globe injury and 52 age-sex similar subjects (control group), were included in this cross-sectional study. Age, gender, education level, occupation, accident history, psychiatric history, trauma type, cause of trauma, and visual acuity were recorded. One to six months after trauma, PTSD and depression symptoms of the participants were evaluated with the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire-Civil Version Scale (PTSD-S) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), respectively.

Patients with open globe injury had a higher PTSD-S total score than the control group, but not significant (23.67 ± 20.41 vs. 18.56 ± 13.13, p = 0.580). Patients with eye trauma exhibited a much higher prevalence of PTSD compared to the control group (20.9% vs. 3.8%, p = 0.010). Patients with trauma had a significantly higher BDI total score than the control group (12.47 ± 10.08 vs. 7.69 ± 6.10, p = 0.015). Also, patients had a higher rate of depression symptoms than controls (25.6% vs. 7.7%, p = 0.017). A significant positive correlation was observed between PTSD-S and BDI scores in the trauma group (r = 0.720, p < 0.001).

An increased prevalence of PTSD and depression was observed in adults after open globe injury. The significant relationship between PTSD-S and BDI scores indicates that patients with open globe injuries should be questioned in terms of both symptoms. For patients with open globe trauma, a holistic approach with psychosocial assessment in addition to physical intervention would be beneficial.