How common is ocular trauma in children and what are the clinical features?
Reviewed by Lauren Hepworth

The authors present a multicenter retrospective case review with the aim of reporting the incidence and characteristics of paediatric ocular trauma. Records for individuals aged 18 and under with a diagnosis of globe, orbit or adnexal injury over a 10-year period were included. The following data was extracted; demographics, context of injury, clinical details, outcome including visual acuity from initial and final visits. A total of 718 individuals were included in the study with a total of 740 ocular injuries. An annual incidence of 203 per 100,000 paediatric patients was calculated after adjusting for age and gender. The proportion of males (62%) presenting with ocular injuries was larger than females. Males also had an older mean age of presentation (9.6 vs. 8.6 years). The 15–18 years age group had the highest prevalence of injury (23%). Seasonal variability was noted to be statistically significant with a higher proportion presenting in the summer (30%) vs. winter (18%). Ten percent of injuries were bilateral, with chemical and pyrotechnics / welding being the most common causes of bilateral injury. The three most common injuries were subconjunctival haemorrhage (27%), corneal abrasion (26%) and lid contusions / oedema (23%). Most injuries were as a result of accident and occurred outdoors. Treatment was required in 64% of cases with antibiotics and cycloplegia being the most common. Other treatments included eye irrigations and surgery. Visual acuity data was limited at both initial and final visits. This study reports it is the first to include children with ocular injury not requiring hospital admission and no restriction was placed on location of initial presentation (e.g. emergency room, ophthalmology clinic). The authors acknowledge the seasonal variability may be due to the local climate and may not be generalisable to other climates. This study indicates that paediatric eye injuries are more prevalent than previous literature suggests. However, the majority of injuries were minor and limited to the anterior segment. It does however provide figures for service planning.

Incidence and clinical features of pediatric ocular trauma in a population based cohort.
Ashby GB, Claxton MR, Kim EJ, et al.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR PEDIATRIC OPHTHALMOLOGY AND STRABISMUS
2023;27:78.