Ophthalmic Emergency Visits in the Wake of the COVID 19 Pandemic: Our Experience at a Tertiary Hospital in Israel.

BACKGROUND: In response to the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, routine clinical visits to the ophthalmic emergency department (OED) were deferred, while emergency cases continued to be seen. OBJECTIVES: To assess the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for ophthalmic emergencies. METHODS: A retrospective chart analysis of patients who presented to the OED during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted. The proportions of traumatic, non-traumatic-urgent, and non-traumatic-non-urgent presentations in 2020 were compared to those of the same time period in 2019. Duration of chief complains and best-corrected visual acuity were also assessed. RESULTS: There were 144 OED visits in 2020 compared to 327 OED visits during the same 3-week-period in 2019. Lower mean age of OED patients was present in 2020. Logarithmic expression (LogMAR) best corrected visual acuity (BVCA) was similar in both years. In 2020 there was a reduction in traumatic, non-traumatic-urgent, and non-traumatic-non-urgent cases compared to 2019 (15.4% reduction, P = 0.038; 57.6% reduction, P = 0.002; 74.6% reduction, P = 0.005, respectively). There was a higher proportion of same-day presentations at commencement of symptoms in 2020 compared with 2019 (52.8% vs. 38.8%, respectively P = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of OED visits at a tertiary hospital dropped by more than half. Although the drop in visits was mostly due to decrease in non-traumatic-non-urgent cases, there was also decrease in non-traumatic-urgent presentations with possible important visual consequences. Additional studies should elucidate what happened to these patients.

[The classification of ocular trauma cases between 2014 and 2018 at the in-patient ophthalmological department of the Markusovszky University Teaching Hospital]. / A 2014 és 2018 között osztályos ellátást igénylo szemsérülések klasszifikációja a Markusovszky Egyetemi Oktatókórházban.

Introduction and aim: To analyse and classify the ocular trauma cases at the in-patient ophthalmological department of the Markusovszky University Teaching Hospital between 2014 and 2018. Method: We analysed the eye injury cases between 01. 01. 2014 and 31. 12. 2018 in the in-patient clinic of our hospital. 98 eyes of 97 patients were included in this study. To classify the injuries, we used the Birmingham Eye Trauma Terminology (BETT) and the new expanded classification of Shukla et al. Results: From the 97 patients, 16 were female and 81 male. The average age was 43.3 ± 22.5 (min.: 3, max.: 92) years; 20 patients were younger than 18 years old. 46.4% of the cases were right eyes, 52.5% were left eyes, and 1% was bilateral. The average time from the injury until the treatment was 1.3 days. The average time spent in hospital because of the injury was 5.2 days. The average observation time was 9.7 months. 95.8% of the injuries were mechanical eye injuries. From this group, 74.2% localized only to the globe, 20.4% were adnexal injuries and 5.4% were destructive eye injuries. From the globe injuries, 15 were closed globe, 60 were open globe injuries, and in 21 cases there were intraocular foreign body present. In 93% of the cases it was possible to keep or improve the best corrected visual acuity during the treatment. Conclusion: With the new classification, we could classify all of the eye injury cases easily. Depending on the type of the eye injury, with appropriate treatment we can keep or improve the visual function of the eye. Orv Hetil. 2019; 160(49): 1941-1947.

Eye hazard classification according to UN GHS / EU CLP and the severity of eye symptoms caused by accidental exposures to detergents and cleaning products.

The use of lower cut-off values/concentration limits for the calculation of mixture classification in UN GHS/EU CLP versus the previous regulatory scheme (EU Dangerous Preparations Directive, DPD), has resulted in an increased number of classifications in the highest eye hazard category. Herein, a semi-quantitative categorisation of severity of eye effects, following accidental human exposures to detergents, was compared to the classification category of the products. Three schemes were evaluated: EU DPD; EU CLP (based on all available data and information, including weight of evidence); and EU CLP (based entirely on the calculation method). As reported by four EU Poison Centres, the vast majority of exposures had caused minor or no symptoms. Classification was a poor predictor of effects in man subjected to accidental exposure. Note however that this is also because effects are not only driven by the intrinsic hazard (as reflected in the classification), but also by the exposure conditions and mitigation (i.e. rinsing). EU CLP classification using all available data and information was more predictive of medically relevant symptoms than the EU CLP calculation method. The latter led to a poorer differentiation between irritating products versus products potentially causing serious eye damage.

Nevus compuesto inflamatorio juvenil: no es melanoma todo lo que parece / Inflammatory juvenile compound nevi: A melanoma is not all that it appears to be

Niña de 11 años que acude por crecimiento rápido de lesión pigmentada en conjuntiva bulbar del ojo izquierdo. Debido a las características biomicroscópicas y ultrasónicas de la lesión se realizó una biopsia escisional con técnica "no touch" y criocoagulación en márgenes quirúrgicos. La anatomía patológica demostró la presencia de un nevus compuesto inflamatorio de conjuntiva. Los tumores melánicos de la conjuntiva son en su gran mayoría benignos. Sin embargo, el crecimiento acelerado de una lesión, la vascularización de la misma, los márgenes irregulares y la diferente coloración deben hacer pensar en una malignización. En tal caso, la biopsia escisional es obligatoria. A pesar de todas las características clínicas de malignidad, principalmente en jóvenes, puede tratarse de un nevus compuesto inflamatorio

An 11 year-old girl presented with a recent growth pigmented conjuntival lesion in the bulbar conjunctiva of left eye. Due to the the biomicroscopic and ultrasound findings, an excisional biopsy was performed on the lesion using the "no touch" technique, as well as cryo-coagulation of surgical margins. Histopathological examination revealed an inflammatory compound nevus. Melanotic conjunctival tumours are mostly benign. However, the recent growth of a lesion, its vascularisation, irregularities of the margins, and colour change must suggest it has turned malignant. In such case, excision of the lesion is mandatory. Despite all the clinical changes, especially in young patients, it can still be an inflammatory compound nevus

Clinical characteristics and outcomes of open globe injuries in Japan.

PURPOSE: To describe the epidemiology and clinical outcomes of open globe injuries (OGIs) in Japan over 10 years, and examine preoperative factors influencing the visual prognosis after surgery. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective, observational, multicenter case-series study. METHODS: Patients' data were entered into a computerized database for review and statistical analyses. The following parameters were assessed; age, gender, initial and final visual acuity, duration between onset and surgery, presence of lens in the eye, characteristics of injury, presence of ocular complications, and number of surgeries. RESULTS: The records of 374 eyes with OGI were enrolled. The average age of the patients was 56.8 ± 22.1 years, and the majority of patients were men (73.5%). Compared to the overall cohort, work-related OGI was the most common, associated with significantly better final visual acuity, whereas patients with fall-down OGI showed significantly worse final visual acuity (P < 0.05). Among the types of injury, both the initial and final visual acuity were significantly worse in the rupture group than in the laceration group. Multiple liner regression analyses revealed that the final visual acuity was significantly associated with initial visual acuity, type of injury (rupture), retinal detachment, and proliferative vitreoretinopathy. CONCLUSION: To predict the visual outcome in patients with OGI, ophthalmologists need to pay attention not only to the initial visual acuity but also to initial ocular conditions, such as the presence of ocular complications.

Systematic analysis of ocular trauma by a new proposed ocular trauma classification.

PURPOSE: The current classification of ocular trauma does not incorporate adnexal trauma, injuries that are attributable to a nonmechanical cause and destructive globe injuries. This study proposes a new classification system of ocular trauma which is broader-based to allow for the classification of a wider range of ocular injuries not covered by the current classification. METHODS: A clinic-based cross-sectional study to validate the proposed classification. We analyzed 535 cases of ocular injury from January 1, 2012 to February 28, 2012 over a 4-year period in an eye hospital in central India using our proposed classification system and compared it with conventional classification. RESULTS: The new classification system allowed for classification of all 535 cases of ocular injury. The conventional classification was only able to classify 364 of the 535 trauma cases. Injuries involving the adnexa, nonmechanical injuries and destructive globe injuries could not be classified by the conventional classification, thus missing about 33% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: Our classification system shows an improvement over existing ocular trauma classification as it allows for the classification of all type of ocular injuries and will allow for better and specific prognostication. This system has the potential to aid communication between physicians and result in better patient care. It can also provide a more authentic, wide spectrum of ocular injuries in correlation with etiology. By including adnexal injuries and nonmechanical injuries, we have been able to classify all 535 cases of trauma. Otherwise, about 30% of cases would have been excluded from the study.

Eye and Orbital Injuries in Sports.

Sports-related eye and orbital injuries continue to occur regularly and may have serious consequences. They are completely preventable when appropriate protection is worn, particularly with polycarbonate lenses. Eye protection is available for most sports and should be worn in accordance with the standards of regional authorities. It is important for first responders to identify red flags in the history and physical examination of an injured athlete for urgent referral to an ophthalmologist. Common sports-related eye injuries include corneal abrasion, subconjunctival hemorrhage, hyphema, vitreous hemorrhage, retinal tears and detachment. The mechanism and treatment of these injuries are discussed in further detail.

Epidemiological and occupational profile of eye trauma at a referral center in Espírito Santo, Brazil / Aspectos epidemiológicos e trabalhistas do trauma ocular em um centro de referência no Espírito Santo, Brasil

ABSTRACT Objective: To draw an epidemiological and occupational profile of eye trauma at a Brazilian referral center, make comparisons with the literature and provide subsidies for the adoption of adequate prevention and enforcement measures. Methods: Descriptive and prospective epidemiological study using a standardized questionnaire to collect data from 60 patients presenting with eye trauma at an ophthalmology service (HUCAM) between 1 april 2013 and 1 october 2013. Results: The male gender was predominant (80%). Ages ranged from 8 to 60 years. Most accidents (56.7%) occurred in the workplace, followed by the home (28.3%). Most injuries were closed, predominantly contusions, followed by foreign body on the external eye. Importantly, 82.9% of the victims of work-related trauma wore no eye protection at the time of the accident. Conclusions: Eye trauma in the workplace and elsewhere is an important problem of public health as it affects primarily the economically active population and may have serious consequences. A considerable proportion of eye trauma is easily avoidable by using personal protective equipment. To minimize the incidence of eye trauma, more attention should be given to instruction in and enforcement of the use of such equipment, supported by frequent prevention campaigns.

RESUMO Objetivo: Caracterizar os aspectos trabalhistas e epidemiológicos regionais envolvidos no trauma ocular, comparar os dados obtidos com os já publicados na literatura e fornecer subsídios para a elaboração de medidas de prevenção e fiscalização adequadas. Metodologia: Estudo epidemiológico, descritivo, prospectivo, realizado no serviço de Oftalmologia do HUCAM, em 60 pacientes com trauma ocular, no período de 01 de abril a 01 de outubro de 2013, quando foram colhidos dados, por meio de questionário padronizado. Resultados: Houve predomínio de indivíduos do sexo masculino (80%) e em sua maioria os pacientes tinham idades que variavam entre 8 e 60 anos. Predominaram os acidentes no ambiente de trabalho (56,7%) seguido dos acidentes domiciliares (28,3%). A maioria dos traumas foi do tipo fechado, com predomínio das contusões seguidas pelo corpo estranho na superfície ocular. Observou-se também que 82,9% dos pacientes que tiveram o trauma no ambiente de trabalho não usavam o equipamento de proteção individual. Conclusões: Trauma ocular é um importante problema de saúde pública, pois acomete principalmente a população economicamente ativa e pode ter graves consequências. Grande parte destes acidentes poderiam ser facilmente preveni-da através do uso apropriado de equipamentos de proteção individual. Desta forma, orientação, fiscalização para o fornecimento e uso dos EPIs e campanhas de prevenção são importantes para redução desses acidentes.

Paediatric ocular and adnexal injuries requiring hospitalisation in Western Australia.

BACKGROUND: The aim was to investigate the characteristics and outcomes of ocular and adnexal injuries requiring hospitalisation in children in Perth, Western Australia. METHODS: This is a hospital-based retrospective review of children admitted to Princess Margaret Hospital for Children with diagnoses of ocular and/or adnexal trauma from 2002-2013. Hospital charts were reviewed for demographic information, injury and management details, follow-up and visual outcome. Final visual acuity was categorised into three groups: 6/12 or better, from 6/12 to 6/60, worse than 6/60. Ordinal logistic regression was used to compute odds ratios and predicted probabilities for each category of final visual outcome. RESULTS: Over the 12-year time period, 482 children were admitted with ocular or adnexal injuries - an average of 40 admissions per year. The mean age of the cohort was 7.1 years (range 0.09 to 16.47 years) with a male to female ratio of 2.6:1.0. There were 185 closed-globe injuries, 72 open-globe injuries and 293 adnexal injuries. Fourteen per cent of the cohort sustained a combined globe and adnexal injury. Children in the up to five-year age group were most susceptible to injury. Eighty-two per cent of the group had a final visual acuity of 6/12 or better. Factors associated with poor visual outcomes included younger age (p < 0.01), open-globe injury (p < 0.01) and lens injury (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Based on the outcomes of our review, paediatric ocular and adnexal trauma are significant causes for hospital attendance in childhood. Identifying associated risk factors will help develop injury prevention strategies to promote eye safety for children.

Open Globe Injury Patient Identification in Warfare Clinical Notes.

The aim of this study is to utilize the Defense and Veterans Eye Injury and Vision Registry clinical data derived from DoD and VA medical systems which include documentation of care while in combat, and develop methods for comprehensive and reliable Open Globe Injury (OGI) patient identification. In particular, we focus on the use of free-form clinical notes, since structured data, such as diagnoses or procedure codes, as found in early post-trauma clinical records, may not be a comprehensive and reliable indicator of OGIs. The challenges of the task include low incidence rate (few positive examples), idiosyncratic military ophthalmology vocabulary, extreme brevity of notes, specialized abbreviations, typos and misspellings. We modeled the problem as a text classification task and utilized a combination of supervised learning (SVMs) and word embeddings learnt in a unsupervised manner, achieving a precision of 92.50% and a recall of89.83%o. The described techniques are applicable to patient cohort identification with limited training data and low incidence rate.

Clinical profile of medicolegal cases presenting to the eye casualty in a tertiary care center in India.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinical profile of medicolegal cases (MLCs) presenting to the eye casualty in a tertiary care hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective review of records. The cases were grouped according to the Ocular Trauma Classification Group classification system. RESULTS: Out of 188 MLCs, 164 (87.2%) were male. Mean age (±standard deviation) was 31.6 (±12.7) years. Age ranged from 7 to 75 years. Twenty-six (13.8%) patients had bilateral involvement. The fist was the most common mode of injury, which was seen in 109 (58%) cases. A total of 27 (14.3%) patients had associated extraocular injury. No evidence of ocular or orbital trauma (malingering) could be found in 13 (7%) patients. Mechanical trauma was present in 169 (90%) patients with injury to globe in 129 (69%) patients and injury to lid or orbit without damage to the globe in 40 (21%) patients. Chemical injury was observed in 6 (3%) patients. Closed globe injury (CGI) was seen in 116 eyes and open globe injury (OGI) was noted in 29 eyes. The most common type of injury, zone, pupil, and grade of injury in CGI were Type A or contusion (79%), Zone I (72%), Pupil B (absence of relative afferent pupillary defect) in 95%, and Grade A [visual acuity (VA) ≥20/40] in 68% of the eyes, respectively. The most common type of injury, zone, pupil, and grade of injury in OGI were Type B or penetrating (48%), Zone II (38%), Pupil B (59%), and Grade D (VA 4/200-light perception) (42%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The most common form and mode of ocular injury in MLC were closed globe injury and fist, respectively. The most common type of injury in CGI and OGI was contusion and penetrating injury, respectively.

Profile of pediatric eye trauma at Hospital de Base do Distrito Federal (HBDF), Brasília, Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiological profile of ocular trauma in children at the HBDF emergency department. METHOD: Descriptive, cross-sectional study. We evaluated 103 cases of ocular trauma in children less than 15 years between July 2012 and January 2013. The factors evaluated through semi-structured questionnaire available online were: age, gender, adult supervision, mechanism, type of trauma, time and place, site and nature of injury, visual acuity, need for hospitalization and/or surgery, type of surgery, mother's level of education, and family income. RESULTS: The average age of patients studied was 7.5 years. Boys (68%) predominate in all age groups. Blunt trauma prevailed (55.3%), followed by open (20%). Most of the cases occurred at home, 14 to 20 hours before seeking hospital care. The most common causes were: wood, stone, bicycle, broken glass, and falls. The cornea was affected in 54%. Visual acuity was ≥20/40 in 68.9%. Primary repair of the eye wall was indicated in 70.37% (p-value=0.022). Open traumas were more severe (p-value=0.005) and had more need for intervention (p-value=0.000). The injuries occurred despite the presence of adult supervision in 54% (p-value=0.002). The most severe injuries predominated in the age range 7-15 years (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: Ocular trauma was more frequent among boys. The mechanisms of injury are the most diverse, and prevail at home. Blunt trauma prevails, but the visual impact is due to open trauma. Programs of prevention and education on child ocular trauma are needed.

Profile of pediatric eye trauma at Hospital de Base do Distrito Federal (HBDF), Brasília, Brazil / Perfil do trauma ocular pediátrico no Hospital de Base do Distrito Federal (HBDF), Brasília, Brasil

Summary Objective: To describe the epidemiological profile of ocular trauma in children at the HBDF emergency department. Method: Descriptive, cross-sectional study. We evaluated 103 cases of ocular trauma in children less than 15 years between July 2012 and January 2013. The factors evaluated through semi-structured questionnaire available online were: age, gender, adult supervision, mechanism, type of trauma, time and place, site and nature of injury, visual acuity, need for hospitalization and/or surgery, type of surgery, mother’s level of education, and family income. Results: The average age of patients studied was 7.5 years. Boys (68%) predominate in all age groups. Blunt trauma prevailed (55.3%), followed by open (20%). Most of the cases occurred at home, 14 to 20 hours before seeking hospital care. The most common causes were: wood, stone, bicycle, broken glass, and falls. The cornea was affected in 54%. Visual acuity was ≥20/40 in 68.9%. Primary repair of the eye wall was indicated in 70.37% (p-value=0.022). Open traumas were more severe (p-value=0.005) and had more need for intervention (p-value=0.000). The injuries occurred despite the presence of adult supervision in 54% (p-value=0.002). The most severe injuries predominated in the age range 7-15 years (p=0.001). Conclusion: Ocular trauma was more frequent among boys. The mechanisms of injury are the most diverse, and prevail at home. Blunt trauma prevails, but the visual impact is due to open trauma. Programs of prevention and education on child ocular trauma are needed.

Resumo Objetivo: descrever o perfil epidemiológico do trauma ocular infantil na urgência do HBDF. Método: estudo transversal, descritivo. Avaliaram-se 103 casos de trauma ocular em menores de 15 anos entre julho de 2012 e janeiro de 2013, por meio de aplicação de questionário semiestruturado disponível online: idade, sexo, presença de supervisão, mecanismo, tipo do trauma, local e hora, sítio e natureza da injúria, acuidade visual, necessidade de internação e/ou cirurgia, tipo de cirurgia, escolaridade materna e renda familiar. Resultados: a média de idade dos pacientes analisados foi 7,5 anos. Os meninos (68%) predominaram em todas as faixas etárias. O trauma fechado prevaleceu (55,3%), seguido do aberto (20%). A maioria dos casos ocorreram em casa, no período de 14 às 20 horas. As causas mais comuns foram: madeira, pedra, bicicleta, caco de vidro e quedas. A córnea foi acometida em 54%. A acuidade visual foi ≥20/40 em 68,9%. Indicou-se sutura primária da parede em 70,37% (p-valor=0,022). O trauma mais grave (p-valor=0,005) e que mais necessitou de intervenção (p-valor=0,000) foi o aberto. As injúrias ocorreram, apesar da presença de supervisão de um adulto, em 54% (p-valor=0,002). Os traumas mais graves predominaram entre 7-15 anos (p-valor=0,001). Conclusão: o trauma ocular infantil foi mais frequente nos meninos. Os mecanismos de lesão são os mais diversos e predominaram no domicílio. O trauma fechado prevaleceu; porém, o maior impacto visual decorreu do trauma aberto. São necessários programas de prevenção e educação em trauma ocular infantil.

Ocular injuries from fireworks: the 11-year experience of a US level I trauma center.

PurposeCharacterize ocular trauma and visual outcomes from firework injuries at a level I trauma center.MethodsRetrospective review of all firework injuries at Harborview Medical Center between 2003 and 2013.ResultsThree hundred and twenty-seven patients sustained firework injuries, of which 100 (31%) sustained ocular injuries. The average age of all patients who sustained fireworks injuries was 24.2 years, 89% were male and 54% of injuries occurred within 48 h of 4 July. Ocular injuries were most commonly caused by mortars (24%) and rockets (22%). Rockets were associated with four times the frequency of ocular injuries as compared with non-ocular injuries (P<0.001). Spectators were more likely to sustain ocular injuries than non-ocular injuries (P=0.001). The most common injuries sustained were corneal abrasions (67%), hyphemas (42%), eyelid injuries (39%), and ruptured globes (17%). Twenty-eight percent of patients with ocular injuries required surgical intervention. Ruptured globes occurred in 17% of patients, with the majority being complex corneoscleral lacerations. Fifty-eight percent of patients who sustained ruptured globes were left with no light perception in the affected eye. Average follow-up was 188 days. Average visual acuity significantly improved from logMAR 1.8±1.6 at presentation to logMAR 1.3±1.8 at last follow-up.ConclusionsFirework-related ocular trauma frequently results in vision-threatening pathology. Prompt referral to and treatment by ophthalmologists is critical. This study documents the dangers inherent in the personal use of fireworks and provides data that may help guide public policy to decrease the frequency of these devastating injuries.

Trauma ocular na Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu / Ocular trauma at the Botucatu medical school

RESUMO Objetivo: Avaliar os traumas oculares graves atendidos em um hospital universitário e que demandaram internação. Métodos: Estudo retrospectivo envolvendo 303 portadores de trauma ocular grave atendidos no Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu - UNESP, entre Janeiro de 1998 até Dezembro de 2008 e que necessitaram internação. Foram avaliadas as variáveis demográficas, as causas dos acidentes, os fatores envolvidos, a acuidade visual inicial e final, assim como os procedimentos realizados. Os dados foram submetidos à análise estatística. Resultados: No período ocorreram 307 traumas oculares graves que foram internados e operados, com maior frequência entre 26 e 40 anos de idade (26%) e do sexo masculino (82%). A maioria dos casos entre os adultos decorreu de acidentes de trabalho ou de trânsito e em crianças, em ambiente de lazer ou doméstico. A córnea foi o local mais afetado (75%) e a zona I foi a mais atingida (82%). O trauma perfurante foi o mais frequente e o agente causal principal foi o vidro (18%), acometendo principalmente os lavradores (41%). A grande maioria dos portadores de trauma ocular atendidos não usava equipamentos de segurança. Após a cirurgia, a AV se manteve abaixo de 0,1 em 48% dos acometidos. O tempo entre o trauma e o tratamento influenciou o prognóstico visual. Conclusão: O trauma ocular grave permanece como uma importante causa de morbidade e cegueira monocular prevenível. O tratamento cirúrgico bem conduzido pode minimizar o prejuízo para a função visual, devendo ser reforçada a necessidade de medidas de prevenção.

ABSTRACT Purpose: To evaluate serious eye trauma requiring admission for treatment at a university hospital. Methods: This was a retrospective study involving 303 patients with severe ocular trauma who required hospitalization at the Hospital of the Faculty of Medicine of Botucatu - Unesp, from January 1998 to December 2008. Demographic data were evaluated and also the causes of accidents, factors involved, initial and final visual acuity (VA) as well as the procedures performed. Data were statistically analyzed. Results: Three hundred and seven severe eye traumas were admitted for surgery, most commonly affecting subjects between the ages of 26 and 40 (26%) who were male (82%). The trauma affecting adults occurred due to work or traffic accidents and in children, during leisure time or in the domestic environment. The cornea (75%) and area I (82%) was the most affected place. A penetrating trauma was most frequent, and the main causal agent was glass (18%), mainly affecting farmers (41%). The majority of the affected patients were not wearing protective equipment at the time of the ocular trauma. After surgery, the AV remained below 0.1 in 48% of affected individuals. The time between trauma and treatment influenced the visual prognosis. Conclusion: Severe eye trauma remains an important cause of morbidity and preventable monocular blindness. Although the severity of the ocular traumas, surgical treatment that is well conducted can minimize the damage to visual function and should reinforce the need for preventive measures.

[Evaluation of Field of Vision in Private Accident Insurance]. / Gesichtsfeldbewertung in der privaten Unfallversicherung.

A simple new scheme to evaluate defects in field of vision in private accident insurance.

Epidemiology and aetiology of childhood ocular trauma in the Republic of Suriname.

PURPOSE: To describe the epidemiology and aetiology of ocular trauma in school-aged children who previously visited the Suriname Eye Centre (SEC) of the Academic Hospital Paramaribo. METHODS: In a hospital-based retrospective study, all cases of children who were school aged (8-15 years) at the time of the survey and previously underwent evaluation and/or treatment at the SEC because of ocular trauma were analysed. Demographic and ophthalmologic data were taken out of patient records; eye injuries were classified using the Birmingham Eye Trauma Terminology classification system. Main outcome measures were type of injury, mechanism/cause of injury, final visual acuity (VA), hospitalization, patient delay and patient compliance. RESULTS: Five hundred and thirty-eight records were analysed which included 35 open globe injuries (OGI) (7%), 458 closed globe injuries (85%), five orbital fractures (1%) and 40 eyelid injuries (7%). The most frequent causes of trauma represented body parts (18%) and sticks or branches (13%) and resulted from poking (20%) or punching (13%) the eye. Final VA < 6/60 was reported in 58% of registered OGI. Where living in rural areas (p = 0.007), OGI (p < 0.0001) and poor compliance to scheduled check-ups (p < 0.0001) were statistically significantly related to an unfavourable outcome, patient delay was not. Patients having OGI were more often hospitalized than children with other injuries (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: This is the first study providing data on childhood ocular trauma in Suriname. As the majority of childhood injuries were avoidable, new policies should aim at developing effective, targeted preventive strategies to promote awareness, parental supervision, immediate action and compliance.

[Causal Participation in Accident Assessment]. / Zur kausalen Mitwirkung in der Unfallbegutachtung.

A variety of different factors may participate in causing an accident or in influencing its course. These have different legal consequences in different areas of insurance. These differences are outlined for the assessment areas, together with the different states of evidence. In particular, it is discussed whether and under which conditions a trauma can indirectly (as a participating factor) either cause, trigger or exacerbate detachment of the retina.

Crash and Burn: Ocular Injuries due to Fireworks.

PURPOSE: To identify the patterns of ocular injury and to determine ocular morbidity resulting from the use of firecrackers. METHODS: A prospective observational study of all patients presenting with ocular trauma consequent to fireworks usage in a tertiary eye care center in South India over a one-month period around the autumn festival of Diwali. We also reviewed the published literature from around the world reporting ocular injuries due to firecrackers. RESULT: 49 patients were included in the study, out of which the vast majority (40/81%) were males. The mean age was 17 years. Almost an equal number of bystanders (24/48.9%) was affected as compared to people handling the fireworks (25/51%). 13 (26.53%) patients had open-globe injury whereas 33 (67.34%) patients had closed-globe injury. Twenty-two (44.8%) patients underwent surgical intervention. Eighteen (36.7%) patients had final vision less then 20/40 (range = 20/50 to No Perception of Light) with eight patients having no perception of light in the affected eye. CONCLUSION: Unregulated use of firecrackers can lead to significant ocular morbidity, mainly involving children, young males, and even innocent bystanders. A combination of public awareness and appropriate legislative laws should be formulated regarding the use of fireworks to decrease the load of needless blindness on society.