Toy gun ocular injuries associated with festive holidays in Kuwait

Abstract

Background: Ocular trauma is one of the important causes of preventable blindness and visual impairment among children worldwide. Prevalence of pediatric ocular trauma associated with toy guns appear to be on the rise, although they are fully preventable. The purpose of this study is to report ocular trauma secondary to toy-gun pellets in Kuwait.

Methods: We conducted a non-comparative case series based on review of the medical records of children who suffered ocular injury from toy-gun pellets and were admitted to a tertiary eye center during a 7-day Eid el-Fitr holiday season in Kuwait.

Results: A total of 19 children were identified. Mean age was 7.8 years. Mean days of admission per patient was 3.6 days, with a total of 68 days of hospitalization. Variable anterior segment findings were identified, including lid edema, sub-conjunctival hemorrhage, corneal abrasion, and abnormal intraocular pressure. Most notably, different grades of hyphaema were seen in all patients, and traumatic cataract was identified in a 30-month-old child. The final visual acuity was 6/18 or better in nine patients and worse than 6/18 in eight patients.

Conclusions: Eye trauma with toy guns resulted in significant injuries that required medical intervention and hospitalization for variable lengths of time, with a potential of causing long-term ocular complications. Our findings should assist public health workers in formulating specific prevention strategies, including a health educational program to make parents and health care professionals aware of the potential harm of these toys.