Open globe eye injury characteristics and prognostic factors in Jazan, Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate characteristics and prognostic factors of open globe injuries (OGI) presented to King Fahad Specialist Hospital in the Jazan region, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This study is a retrospective review of medical records of OGI patients who underwent operative repair of their injuries in King Fahad Central Hospital, Jazan, Saudi Arabia between January 2011 and December 2013. Demographic information, eye injury, preoperative, and postoperative visual acuity were collected. The initial and final visual acuity outcomes were compared to identify subjects who witnessed any improvement in their visual acuity. Logistic regression was used to assess characteristics associated with improvements in the visual acuity. RESULTS: Number of included cases was 120. Most frequently reported causes of injury were blunt trauma (20%) and shattered glass (18.3%). Approximately half of the cases were reported to have iris injuries or hyphema. Most cases suffered penetration (37.5%) of the eye globe. Only zone I injury was significantly associated with better visual acuity outcomes (odds ratio [OR]: 2.447, p=0.036). Among the variables that were associated with poorer prognostic outcomes, only aphakia (OR: 0.180), retinal damage (OR: 0.062), vitreous hemorrhage (OR: 0.266), and zone III injuries (OR: 0.092) were statistically significant (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Zone I injury appears to have a better prognostic effect on visual acuity where injuries related to Zone III were associated with worse prognostic outcomes.