The Visual Outcome of Gunshot Injury after Last Civil War in Tobruk-Libya: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Ocular trauma is one of the most common causes of acquired blindness. This study aims to determine the epidemiology of ocular trauma in all the age groups in Tobruk Medical Centre- Libya. A retrospective study was conducted in our hospital for one year and all the aged group presenting with ocular trauma in the Ophthalmology and Emergency Departments were enrolled in the study. Age, sex distribution, presentation duration, mode of injury, type of injury, and final visual outcome were analyzed. There were 201 patients, 76% of the patients were male. Injuries usually occurred at home (54%) followed by accidents at workplaces (18%), car accidents (10.5%), fighting (15%), and at school (2.5%). There were 100/201 patients (49%) of cases that required hospital admission and (40.8%) needed surgical interventions. The most common traumas were blunt trauma in 124/201 patients (61.7%). Penetrating trauma with an intraocular foreign body (IOFB) accounted for (11.5%) of cases. The visual outcome was recorded in 200 patients. 22/201 patients (11%) ended with severe impairment of vision (vision hand movement (HM) or less). Blindness with no perception of light (no PL) was the result in 3.5% of trauma cases, while 11/16 patients (86%) with gunshot injuries through fighting have complete irreversible blindness (no PL). We concluded, that most open-globe injuries can cause severe vision impairment. In this study, gunshot injury is the leading cause of permanent loss of vision.