Ocular injuries in battered women

The purpose of this article is to examine the occurrence of battered women seen by ophthalmologists in an eye emergency department, and to make ophthalmologists aware that these women are not a rarity but often go unrecognized.

This retrospective study reviews a large urban eye center's emergency room charts over a 6-month period for documentation of injuries to women as a result of domestic violence. Seventy-nine charts were selected as part of this study. In 18 of these charts, battered women definitely were identified, and in 61 charts abuse was suspected but the abuser was not specifically identified.

The patients ranged in age from 15 to 90 years. The abuser was most commonly a boyfriend using a fist as the means of inflicting the injury. Injuries ranged from lacerations and contusions to more serious injuries, including three hyphemas and three ruptured globes. Six patients were hospitalized because of their injuries. Substance abuse was documented in 5 of 79 patients.

Many of these female victims of intentional violence in their homes go unrecognized or uncharted by physicians. Ophthalmologists see many of these women because of the high frequency of head and neck injuries in these cases, and should therefore maintain a high index of suspicion and be prepared to act appropriately with recognition and documentation of the injury and provision of social service referrals.