Clinical and visual profile of ocular trauma in rural India: A cross-sectional descriptive study

Rural Indian communities are particularly vulnerable owing to agriculture-related hazards, delayed access to care, and limited eye-health literacy. Consecutive patients presenting with fresh or previously untreated mechanical ocular injury were enrolled. Clinical findings and initial/un-corrected visual acuity (VA) were recorded using the Birmingham Eye Trauma Terminology (BETT) and Ocular Trauma Score (OTS) frameworks. Community-level first-aid, rapid referral pathways and protective-eye-wear education substantially reduce blindness from eye injuries in rural settings.