Prevalence of Ocular Trauma among Paediatrics and Geriatrics: A Hospital based Study in Abia State Nigeria

Ocular trauma, one of the leading causes of monocular loss of visions especially in children and the elderly, poses a significant public health challenge. This study found the epidemiological characteristics of patients hospitalized in a private eye clinic and a tertiary eye centre in Umuahia, Abia State through a hospital based survey. The study reviewed over 172 injured eyes from 172 patients over a period of 5 years from January 2010 to December 2015. Of the 172 cases of trauma reviewed, 77 (44.8%) closed globe, 39 (19.8%) open globe, 50 (29.1%) lacerations, 5 (2.9%) chemical injuries, 6 (3.5%) thermal injuries were seen. The mean ages of the paediatric and geriatric patients were 9±4.15 and 72±4.27 respectively. The most frequent types of injuries were school-related in paediatrics and domestic-related in geriatrics. The majority (55 cases) of injuries in males and females occurred in the age group of 6-12 in paediatrics and (23 cases) 71-75 in geriatrics respectively. The relationship between final visual acuity (VA) and initial VA was tested using Chi-square test at 5% level of significance (α = 0.05), and there was no significant difference in the initial VA and final visual outcome after trauma since (X2cal = 137.96) is greater than (X2 tab = 28.85). The study reveals the need for adopting proper prevention measures especially for the age group that is mostly affected by ocular trauma. Also more studies are needed to further investigate the effectiveness of the current ocular trauma preven?ve or management strategies. Keywords : Paediatrics, Geriatrics, Trauma, injuries