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Case Reports
. 2013:7:485-8.
doi: 10.2147/OPTH.S42050. Epub 2013 Mar 6.

Traumatic ruptured globe eye injuries in a large urban center

Eitan S Burstein  1 , Douglas R Lazzaro
Affiliations
Case Reports

Traumatic ruptured globe eye injuries in a large urban center

Eitan S Burstein et al. Clin Ophthalmol. 2013.

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine patient characteristics and outcomes in a group of consecutive patients with ruptured globe eye injuries at Kings County Hospital Center, a large, urban, level 1 trauma center.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed to identify all patients with ruptured globe eye injuries seen between January 2009 and October 2011. Thirty-eight patients who sustained ruptured globe eye injuries from all causes were investigated for etiology and final visual outcomes.

Results: Eight eyes in which vision could be assessed were evaluated as having no light perception at presentation and three of these eyes required primary enucleation. Of the 38 eyes, orbit fractures were found in 15 eyes and an intraocular foreign body was found in six eyes.

Discussion: Our cohort revealed a 37.5% rate of primary enucleation in eyes with no light perception, which we believe to be a reflection of the severity of injury. All three cases were secondary to a gunshot wound. Further, our sample, although small in size, revealed a very high percentage of eyes that were ruptured secondary to violent causes compared with other studies.

Keywords: emergency; epidemiology; globe; rupture; trauma; urban; violence.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Using data from Casson et al, we compared data on the causes of ruptured globes from Kings County, a major urban hospital, to data from the Royal Adelaide Hospital, a hospital in Australia that covers both urban and rural areas. Notes: In their case series, patients were from rural areas, “disproportionately”. The data revealed that intentional injury due to such varied causes as gunshots (7), bottles to the eye (2), a baseball bat to the eye (1), and a hammer (1) occurred at a much higher rate at Kings County than at the Royal Adelaide. This was confirmed with Fisher’s Exact Test, showing a strongly significant difference (P < 0.0001).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Emergency Department triage data was examined to see the time of day that ruptured globes presented to the hospital. Patients transferred from other hospitals were excluded. The data showed that 51% of patients presented between the hours of 8 pm and 4 am.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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