Ocular Trauma in Pediatric Age Group at a Tertiary Eye Care Center in Central Maharashtra, India

PURPOSE: To study the demographic profile and visual outcome in pediatric ocular trauma. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective and interventional study. SETTING: Tertiary eye care center in central Maharashtra. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included all children of age group 15 years and younger sustaining eye injuries and presented to the outpatient department or emergency services. The duration of the study was 1 year. A detailed medical history was obtained. Demographic profile was noted. A detailed ocular examination included visual acuity, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, and fundus examination. All patients were followed up to 6 months. RESULTS: Out of 350 children examined, 66 (18.9%) had ocular trauma. The mean age at presentation was 8.33 ± 4.03 years. Children aged 6–10 years (39.3%) were most commonly affected followed by children from 11 to 15 years (36.1%). There were no significant differences between rural (54.1%) and urban (45.9%) children. Most (63.9%) had open and 24.6% had closed globe injuries. Perforating injuries to the cornea (n=29, 47.5%) was the most common injury. Sports-related injuries were common (n= 18) followed by wooden stick- (n = 14) and firecracker-related (n = 11) injuries. In the open and closed globe injuries, 36 (92.3%) and 5 (33.3%) patients, respectively, required immediate surgical intervention. CONCLUSION: Sports-related activities were a common cause of ocular trauma in the pediatric age group in the central region of Maharashtra. We propose setting of rapid action ocular trauma team to prevent blindness occurring due to trauma.