Prevalence of secondary complications and visual outcome in penetrating ocular injuries

ABSTRACT

To assess the prevalence of secondary complications and their effect on visual outcome in penetrating ocular injuries. A retrospective review. This study was carried out at Al Shifa Trust Eye Hospital Rawalpindi and consisted of a retrospective analysis of the data of patients presenting with penetrating ocular injuries from 1[st] January 2009 to 30[th] June 2011. At the time of presentation and after final treatment all patients underwent a complete ocular examination. In all cases primary globe repair was performed in the first stage. The percentage of secondary complications and related visual deficiency was calculated taking into consideration degree of penetration and the visual acuity at time of presentation. A proforma was prepared for documentation. A total of 93 eyes, with a male to female ratio of 31 and mean age of 20.5 years were enrolled. Overall incidence of post op complications was 55.91% [Cataract 42.3%, Phthisis 34.61%, retinal detachment 26.92%, vitreous haemorrhage 21.15%, endophthalmitis 11.5%, secondary glaucoma and APD 3.84%]. Best corrected final VA of up to or better than 6/12 was found in only 19.35% of patients. At the end of three months, the cases with normal vision were 16.3%, visual impairment 19.6%, severe visual impairment 04.1% and monocular blindness 60.8%. Penetrating ocular trauma in Pakistan has a high rate of secondary complications which carries a poor visual prognosis and leads to monocular blindness in signified number of cases