Ocular injuries inMalawi

SUMMARY A surveywas madeof205patients admitted to hospital forocular trauma in Malawi insouth-east AfricafromJanuary 1976 to December 1977. Resultsofthe survev showthat eye traumais a relatively common problem in this developing country, occurring most frequently in children, young adults, and males. Most eye injuries in Malawioccurredunderdomestic circumstances; themajor cause ofocular trauma was associated with chopping and gathering wood.Industrial injuries were rare. The most common injury was contusion and the most frequent complication was traumatic cataract. Most treated eyes retained useful vision.Fewgeneral surveys ofocular trauma appear in the ophthalmic literature.'" Mostdeal with penetratinginjuries only,5 childhood,'2 or adult'3 eyetrauma,or injuries characteristic of a particular environ- ment.'4 ' All of these surveys were carried out in developed industrial nations. Sincemanyeye injuries are related to particularoccupations andcultures, thetypes of