[Statistical study of ocular injuries--effect of the seat belt legislation in traffic ocular injuries]

Three hundred and eighty cases of eye injuries treated at Kyushu University Hospital during from January, 1984 to December, 1989 were statistically analyzed. Ocular injuries comprised about 10% of the total number of in-patient cases. Males were five times more than females. Among the age groups, those in their teens were the most affected. The most frequent cause of injuries was blunt trauma in sports. The effect of the seat belt legislation in November 1986 in traffic ocular injuries was examined. Traffic ocular injury cases were about 20% of all cases of ocular injuries. In the ocular injury, perforating injury was the most among traffic eye injuries and the visual outcome was poor. However, after the seat belt legislation the rate of traffic ocular injuries in total ocular eye injuries decreased from 26% to 14%. Furthermore, the incidence of perforating eye injuries caused by shattering windshields decreased significantly and the final visual acuity was better than before legislation. From these results, we conclude that the seat belt legislation has been effective in decreasing traffic eye injuries.