Ocular trauma trends in indonesia: Poor initial uncorrected visual acuity associated with mechanism of injury

AIM: The objectives of the study were to identify ocular trauma trends and to analyze how initial uncorrected visual acuity (VA) is associated with mechanism of injury (MOI) in a referral hospital in Indonesia. METHODS: A 5-year medical chart reviews at the ophthalmology emergency department Dr. Soetomo General Academic Hospital. The information retrieved included sex, age, laterality involvement, initial uncorrected VA, MOI, and management. Sex-and age-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to evaluate the relationship between poor initial uncorrected VA and MOI, using multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: A total of 953 patients consisted of 80.3% of males and 19.9% of females. Ocular trauma predominantly occurred in 21–30 years age group (20.9%). May and November were found to have the highest average number of monthly patients. Closed globe injuries (80.3%) were more prevalent than open globe injuries (17.7%). The most frequent MOIs were sharp objects (311; 32.6%), followed by blunt objects (236; 24.8%). Most cases (89.2%) displayed unilateral involvement and 54.3% of cases showed an initial uncorrected VA of better than 6/18. Compared to road dust, blunt object, sharp object, and traffic accident were significantly associated with poor initial VA, with adjusted ORs (95% CIs) of 5.24 (2.27–12.10), 4.03 (1.76–9.25), and 8.17 (3.31–20.15), respectively. CONCLUSION: Initial uncorrected VA and MOI provide earlier information regarding the prognosis. Traffic accident showed a greater tendency to cause a poor initial uncorrected VA. Most ocular trauma is preventable by educating people at risk to avoid common MOIs and to use protection.