Visual outcome of pediatric ocular trauma in a Latin American population

Abstract

Objective: The aim is to assess associated factors regarding the type of pediatric ocular trauma and final visual acuity (VA) of the patients received ophthalmology service at tertiary care facility between 2013 and 2018. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. The clinical history of patients between 0 and 15 years of age diagnosed with ocular trauma was examined. The exposure variable was the type of ocular trauma (open or closed). Other variables related to ocular trauma were studied. Results: A total of 183 ocular trauma cases were studied. The median age was 9 years (interquartile range: 5–12), most patients were males (65.5%), blunt and sharp objects were the most frequent causes of ocular trauma (41% and 33.3%, respectively). Closed ocular trauma was found in 82.5% of the cases and zone 1 was the most frequently involved (76,5%). Sixty-four percent of cases required surgical management and 26% presented complications at the final follow-up. About 78.7% of the patients had VA equal or higher than 20/40. The risk factors associated with worse visual outcome (worse than 20/40) was found to be open ocular trauma (relative risk [RR] = 5.5; 95%IC: 3.3–9.2), the affected zone (higher risk in zone 3 with RR = 7.62; 95% confidence interval: 7.61–7.63) and time elapsed between the moment of trauma and receiving ophthalmological treatment (RR = 1.01; 95%IC: 1.01–1.01). Conclusion: Most patients that presented with ocular trauma had satisfactory final VA, considering that closed ocular trauma was more frequent. Open ocular trauma, the affected zone, and the time elapsed before starting treatment were associated with worse VA outcomes in our study.