Animal and bird-related ocular trauma: a decade of experience from a tertiary referral eye hospital of Iran.

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to explore ocular and periocular injuries resulting from animal and bird attacks among patients referred to a tertiary referral eye hospital of Iran over ten years (2014-2024).

METHODS

In this retrospective analysis, we collected data on patient demographics, the species of the attacking animal and bird, the nature of the ocular and periocular injuries, details of ophthalmological examinations, therapeutic interventions, and surgical treatments.

RESULTS

One hundred and twenty-nine patients, with an average age of 36 ± 23 years (range: 1-77 years), were included in this study, of whom 81 were male. Among these patients, 70 (54.3%) experienced open globe injuries, and seven were diagnosed with endophthalmitis during their hospital stay. Specifically, of the 60 injuries caused by birds, 47 patients (78.3%) experienced open globe injuries, whereas this rate was 21 out of 66 (31.8%) for injuries caused by quadrupeds (P-value ≤ 0.001). Rural patients had a significantly longer time interval from trauma occurrence to hospital admission (83.58 ± 31.46 h in the rural group vs. 29.85 ± 6.48 h in the urban group, P-value = 0.012) and from hospital admission to the first surgical intervention (8.8 ± 1.14 h in the rural group vs. 6.83 ± 6.13 h in the urban group, P-value = 0.020). Additionally, final visual acuity was significantly better in urban patients than in rural patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Animal and bird-related ocular trauma in Iran predominantly involves injuries caused by birds, with rural patients experiencing worse visual outcomes and delayed referral.