Abstract :
Background: There are 55 million cases of ocular trauma annually in the world. A large percentage of ocular trauma is secondary to road traffic accidents. Objective: To study the clinical profile of ocular injuries among road traffic accident victims presenting to a tertiary hospital in Goa.Methods: A hospital-based descriptive study was conducted among 312 consecutive patients of ocular trauma secondary to road traffic accidents who presented to the tertiary hospital. Detailed history and examination were recorded. Observations were expressed as simple percentages and proportions. Results: 89.74% patients were males, 63.78% were below the age of 40. 58.33% of participants were driving two-wheelers at the time of accidents. 83.97% presented to the hospital within 6 hours of the accident. 75% were under the influence of alcohol and 41.98% were not following safety regulations at the time of accident. 95.83% patients presented with closed-globe injuries while 4.16% with open-globe injuries. Most commonly involved ocular structure were the lids followed by conjunctiva, lens, iris, anterior chamber and cornea. After successful treatment 82.69% achieved vision better than 6/12 at the end of 6 weeks. Conclusion: Road traffic accident related ocular injuries are common in males in the productive age group. By adhering to the safety regulations these injuries could be reduced to a considerable amount.
Keyword :
Eye Injuries, Road-Traffic Injuries, Trauma, Goa