Profile of ocular trauma and its visual outcome at tertiary care hospital in North-West Rajasthan

Abstract

Background: Trauma to the eye and its surrounding structures remains a leading cause of visual morbidity and blindness. Ocular injuries can cause loss of career, major lifestyle changes, and cosmetic disfigurement; they have a significant socioeconomic and psychological impact. Objective: To study the demographics, profile, and prognostic factors among ocular trauma patients. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study of ocular trauma cases presenting to the outdoor or emergency department in a tertiary care center who undergone surgical and conservative management. The demographics, type of intervention, and final visual outcome were compared with the ocular trauma score categories and with the time interval between the injury and surgery. Results: A total of 217 eyes of 212 patients were evaluated, and out of them 158 (74.50%) were males and 54 (25.50%) were females. The age of the patients ranged from 6 months to 68 years with mean age 28.53 years. 137 (64.6%) patients had open-globe injury and 75 (35.4%) had closed-globe injury. Among the causes of trauma, road traffic accidents (RTA) (50.5%, n = 107) were the most common followed by wooden stick and occupation-related injury (21.7%, n = 36), trauma due to assault 9.9%, n = 21), and miscellaneous injuries. Conclusion: In all cases of ocular trauma, it is important to assess the patient, accurately. Prophylactic and protective measures are of utmost importance in preventing visually disabling complications of ocular trauma. Wearing helmets for two-wheeler, seat belts for four-wheeler passengers, and strict compliance to traffic rules will minimize RTA-related injuries.