Surgical management of ophthalmic trauma due to the Palestinian Intifada

The purpose of the study was to determine the causes, morbidity and visual outcome of 567 Intifada eye injuries which occurred during a 6 year period from December 1987 to December 1993.

A prospective study was undertaken of Intifada eye injuries from December 1987 to December 1993 which were treated at the St John Ophthalmic Hospital, Jerusalem, or in private clinics in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.

Seventy-five per cent of those injured came from East Jerusalem or the West Bank. The average age of a person injured was 17 years. Male preponderance was 84.7%. The study demonstrates both the high morbidity and the poor visual outcome which characterise Intifada eye injuries. There were 567 eyes in the series, of which 143 (25.2%) lost perception of light and 72 (12.6%) had vision less than or equal to 6/60. Eighty-six eyes (15.1%) required enucleation. In total 43.1% of the series had severe ocular injuries. Rubber or plastic bullets caused 154 injuries. They were the commonest indication for the enucleation of an eye (90.6% of 86 enucleations). There were 3 cases of severe Gram-negative endophthalmitis in the group of patients who presented late to the hospital (0.52%).

Intifada injuries are associated with far greater morbidity than non-military eye injuries. Rubber or plastic bullet injuries are the leading cause of visual loss and of eye enucleation. Military curfews exacerbate the morbidity of Intifada injuries by prolonging evacuation time.