Factors Associated with Visual Outcome after Primary Repair of Open-Globe Injury by Ophthalmology Residents in Training in a Tertiary Eye Center

PURPOSE: To assess factors associated with visual outcome after open-globe injury (OGI) repair by trainees. METHODS: In this observational study, charts of OGIs repaired by trainees at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok were retrospectively reviewed. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative outcomes (day 1, month 1, and month 6 postoperation) were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 78 OGIs presented in a 10-year period. A biphasic pattern was found among the young and the elderly. Approximately 73.6% of the cases had had surgical repair outside office hours. A majority of cases had been caused by machinery and hammers, and had visual acuity (VA) <20/200. Three cases were reported as having been unsuccessful intraoperatively for globe repair. A fifth of the cases required evisceration/enucleation within 2 weeks of presentation. Presenting VA worse than hand motion was associated with the risk of evisceration/enucleation (OR 14.5, P=0.013). VA improved at 6 months postoperation to the range of counting fingers and 20/200 (OR 15.6, P<0.01). High ocular trauma scores (OTSs) was associated with lower risk of evisceration/enucleation, and 12% retinal detachment (RD) was discovered, of which 90% occurred within 1 month after OGI repair. CONCLUSION: Most OGIs were efficiently managed by the trainees, seldomly requiring assistance from subspecialists. Poor initial VA was associated with high risk of visual loss, whereas higher OTSs were inversely related to lower risk of evisceration or enucleation. There was a higher percentage of participants with final VA of 20/100–20/20 than the preoperative period. Precaution and careful evaluation of RD in the early postoperative period is recommended.