Urban eye trauma at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary 1988-1993

Purpose. We conducted a six year retrospective study of ocular trauma requiring admission to our institution from 1988 to 1993. Methods. The medical records of all in-patients sustaining ocular trauma were evaluated for age, sex, etiology of injury, treatment and visual outcomes. Results. 615 cases were reviewed for this study. Males predominated, 480/615 (78%). 40% of all injuries resulted from accidents, 31% from assault, 20% were work related, and 9% were recreational injuries. Corneal or corneoscleral lacerations were the most frequent admission diagnoses (304/615, 49%); 99 of these were work related. Post surgical wound ruptures accounted for 64 cases (64/615, 10%). 42/64 of these cases (66%) were seen in the elderly. The 16-30 age group accounted for 41% of all assaults and 46% of all occupational injuries. The most common secondary injuries included traumatic cataract (103/615, 17%) and retinal detachment (38/615, 6%). Only 5 enucleations were performed in the three month period following the initial trauma. Conclusions. This retrospective study demonstrates that males continue to predominate in serious ocular trauma. Nearly one-third of the corneal or corneo-scleral lacerations may have been preventable, since none of the patients suffering occupational injuries had worn safety eyewear. The 16-30 age group was the most likely to sustain an assault or occupational injury. There was a high incidence of post surgical wound rupture(most commonly in the elderly), emphasizing the prolonged vulnerability of the surgical wound to trauma.