Major pediatric ocular trauma in Taiwan.

Purpose: To investigate major pediatric ocular trauma in Taiwan.

Methods: Retrospective review of medical records of all patients 15 years and younger who were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of eye injury at National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Taiwan, between June 1988 and May 2006.

Results: There were 156 children (156 eyes) 1.1 to 15.0 years (mean+/-standard deviation, 7.1+/-0.3 years; boy: girl ratio: 2.1:1). Objects most often causing penetrating injury were scissors (13.5%), pencils/pens (12.2%), broken eyeglasses/spectacles (7.7%), and knives (6.4%). Most blunt trauma occurred in traffic accidents (5.8%). Most injuries occurred at home, followed by on the street, at school, and at sports venues. Injuries were classified as open globe (71.2%), adnexal only (18.6%), or closed globe (10.3%), and included corneal laceration (40.4%), lens damage (27.6%), hyphema (25.6%), and eyelid laceration (23.7%). Most surgical procedures were primary repair (88.5%) or removal of a damaged lens (22.4%). Additional surgery was performed in 19.9% of cases. After treatment, 56.4% of eyes had corneal opacity/scar and 7.1% became phthitic; 52.6% had good visual outcome, whereas 23.1% had poor final vision. Compared with visual acuity measured on admission, final visual acuity was improved in 76.1%, unchanged in 19.7%, and worse in 4.3%. Predictors of worse outcome were open-globe injury and larger wound size, posterior segment involvement, and presence of an intraocular foreign body.

Conclusions: Most of the children hospitalized for major ocular trauma are younger boys with penetrating injuries suffered at home. Most injuries could have been prevented by increased awareness and reduction of risk factors, and the authors urge better public education for improved safety.