Mechanical eye (globe) injuries in children

Purpose: The epidemiology of mechanical eye injuries in children was studied to identify the agents of injury and their contribution to the severity of visual loss and to suggest preventive measures. Methods: The mode, type, and severity of injury were correlated with the visual acuity 6 months after the injury in all children with mechanical eye injuries between January 1994 to January 1999. Results: Of the 68 children with mechanical eye injuries, the mode of injury was host (child) related in 12 (17.65%) patients, agent related in 40 (58.82%) patients, and environment related in 16 (23.53%) patients. Mild injuries were seen in 22 (32.35%) patients, 31 (45.59%) patients had moderate injuries, and 15 (22.06%) patients had severe injuries. None of the patients with host-related injuries had a severe injury. Six (66.67%) patients with host-related injuries had a good visual outcome and none had a poor outcome. Among patients with agent-related injuries, 11 (25%) had a good outcome, 14 (40%) patients had a fair outcome, and 10 (22.5%) patients had a poor outcome. Of the patients with environment-related injuries 3 (33.33%) each had good, fair, and poor visual outcomes. Conclusions: Agent and environment-related injuries had a far worse outcome than host-related injuries. This epidemiological classification directly suggests practical preventive measures that can be adopted at home or at school to reduce the incidence and severity of ocular injuries. The other predictors of the final visual outcome were the severity of the injury at presentation and the necessity for a secondary surgical procedure.