Wooden sticks as objects of ocular injury: Are they really bad?

Abstract

Background: To compare the incidence of infection and damage caused by wooden stick with that caused by other objects and evaluate other objects causing ocular injury. Setting: Tertiary care hospital in rural part of central western India. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective observational cohort study designed in 2002. Patients with all open-globe injuries in either eye, diagnosed and managed between January 2003 and December 2009, were enrolled in our study. The injuries were grouped as those caused by wooden stick and injuries by other objects. Data were collected in International Society of Ocular Trauma initial and follow-up report form and were analyzed. Results: In our study, there were 687 cases of which 496 were open-globe cases. Wooden stick is one of the most common objects of injury in a rural setting. Wooden stick associated with any infection, the final visual outcome was significantly better than that of the injury caused by other objects. (P = 0.002). The outcome measures were final visual acuity and complications. Conclusion: Despite the wooden stick being a common object of injury, it is an important predictive factor for better visual recovery and is not associated with any infection.