Epidemiological evaluation of penetrating ocular trauma in patients under the age of sixteen

Abstract

Evaluation of epidemiological factors and the contributing factors in occurrence of penetrating ocular trauma in patients under the age of 16. This descriptive - analytical study was carried out on 100 children affected by penetrating eye trauma, who were referred to ophthal- mology emergency room, Feiz Hospital, in one year. For each patient, age, gender, time and place of occurrence of trauma, education level of parents, being alone at the time of trauma, and the type of trauma were recorded and analyzed. The mean age of patients was 7±3.8 years (2-16 years old), and of the patients evaluated, 69 patients were male. The trauma occurred at home in 57 cases, and 47% of injuries took place in the morning. Knife was the most common cause of injury (26%). Twenty nine patients were alone at the time of trauma. The most frequent type of injury was corneal laceration. All the traumas were unilateral. Careful observation of children by par- ents, particularly in the morning, plays an important role in decreasing the number of penetrating traumas. Moreover, supervising out- door activities and games is of great importance.