Knocked by the shuttlecock: twelve sight-threatening blunt-eye injuries in Australian badminton players.

BACKGROUND: Non-penetrating ocular injuries from badminton shuttlecocks can result in severe damage and life-long complications. This case series highlights the morbidity of such injuries, particularly in regard to post-traumatic glaucoma. METHODS: This is a retrospective case series of 12 patients with shuttlecock-related blunt eye injuries sustained during badminton play without eye protection. By approaching colleagues through conference presentations and networking, the authors have attempted to gather all known cases of shuttlecock ocular injury managed in tertiary ocular emergency departments or private ophthalmological clinics in Victoria and New South Wales, Australia in 2015. RESULTS: This is the first multicentre case series to describe badminton-related ocular injuries in Australia. Our case series demonstrates, in particular, long-term glaucoma-related morbidity for patients over a large age range (16 to 77 years), with one patient requiring ongoing management 26 years following their initial injury. The cases reported further add to the literature promoting awareness of badminton-related ocular injury. CONCLUSIONS: We encourage player education and advocacy on badminton-related eye injuries and appropriate use of eye protection to reduce associated morbidity.

Associations between preoperative OCT parameters and visual outcome 3 months postoperatively in patients undergoing vitrectomy for idiopathic epiretinal membrane.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of preoperative optical coherence tomography (OCT) features on postoperative visual acuity and change in acuity after epiretinal membrane (ERM) surgery. METHODS: This was a retrospective consecutive case series of patients with symptomatic idiopathic ERMs who underwent vitrectomy and membrane peel between 2008 and 2013. The main outcomes were postoperative letter score and change in letter score. The association between visual acuity and OCT features was estimated using linear regression, correcting for important baseline covariates. OCT features included central foveal thickness, maximum retinal thickness, retinal cross-sectional area, central photoreceptor thickness, central epiretinal membrane, intraretinal cyst presence and location, retinal contraction, foveal ellipsoid zone and external limiting membrane integrity, and pseudoholes. RESULTS: A total of 79 patients were included in the study. Mean visual acuity was 65.0 letters preoperatively and 68.9 letters postoperatively, with average follow-up of 92 days. Better postoperative visual acuity was associated with the presence of preoperative retinal contraction (6.4 letters P = 0.027) and lower preoperative maximum retinal thickness values (0.34 letters per 10 µm reduction, P = 0.003). Change in visual acuity was associated with preoperative foveal ellipsoid zone attenuation (6.6 letters more improvement when present, P = 0.013). Preoperative pseudoholes were associated with a smaller change in visual acuity (7.4 letters less improvement, P = 0.034). No other OCT features were significant, including intraretinal cyst presence and location. Better preoperative visual acuity was associated with better postoperative acuity, but less change in visual acuity postoperatively. CONCLUSION: Preoperative maximum retinal thickness and retinal contraction were predictive of better postoperative visual acuity, while patients with a preoperative attenuated foveal ellipsoid zone were most likely to improve. Patients with preoperative pseudoholes had slightly worse visual acuity postoperatively. Although better preoperative vision was associated with better postoperative vision, it was associated with less change in visual acuity, emphasizing the importance of careful consideration of the desired surgical goals before advising surgery for ERM.