Epidemiology of Leisure Sports-Related Ocular Trauma

Abstract

Purpose: We investigated the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of leisure activity- and sports-related ocular trauma for application to its treatment and prevention. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted on 121 patients who visited Gachon University Gil Medical Center from January 2006 to December 2007 because of leasure activity- and sports-related ocular trauma. The incidence of ocular injuries, sex and age, monthly and seasonal distribution, causes, diagnosis, and visual acuity were reviewed. Results: Among the 1592 patients of ocular trauma, 121 patients (7.6%) were related to leasure activity- and sports. The incidence was higher in males (81.8%; 4.5-fold) than in females. The mean age of patients was 23.7±7.1 years. Ocular injuries occurred least in winter (19.8%) and occurred more during the week than on weekends (1.6-fold). The most common cause was soccer (39.7%), more specifically being hit with the soccer ball (47.1%). The initial LogMAR visual acuity was worse in the females and in the patients older than 30 years. Traumatic hyphema (19.7%) was the most common cause of visual disturbance, and corneal erosion (11.3%) occurred frequently. Conclusions: Leasure activity- and sports-related ocular trauma is becoming an increasingly significant cause of ocular morbidity, and trends relating to characteristics such as sex and age were found. These outcomes can be put to practical use in the prevention and treatment of sports-relatedocular injuries.