[Pediatric ocular trauma: a retrospective survey].

PURPOSE

To determine the risk factors for pediatric ocular injuries, especially those resulting in severe visual impairment, and to identify the trends and preventable causes.

METHODS

A retrospective survey was conducted for all pediatric trauma cases at Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center from January 1989 through December 1992. Four hundred eighty-seven cases of 15 years old or younger were recruited in this study. Stepwise regression analysis was used to identify the relations between the visual prognosis and the potential risk factors (age, gender, time after injury, type of injury, and cause of injury)

RESULTS

The male to female ratio was approximately 3:1, and most were 4 to 8 years old. Non--perforating trauma in the anterior segment was the most common type of injury. The final recorded best corrected visual acuity was 0.3 or better in 65% of the patients, while 19% were found to be 0.05 or worse with best correction. The following formula was generated by multiple linear regression model: Visual outcome = 0.963775 - 0.0896543 x (type of injury).

CONCLUSION

Pediatric ocular trauma may cause severe visual impairment and occurs most frequently at the age of 4 to 8 years. The visual outcome is mainly associated with the type of injury.