RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Wearing appropriate eye-protection devices in workplace, sports and motorcycling have not been a routine in most of Asian countries. The purpose of this study is to assess the frequency, causes, mechanisms, functional outcomes and costs of hospitalized eye injuries in a large industrial city in South Eastern Asia. METHODS: A retrospective review of the hospital admission files of ocular trauma admitted to the Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital from January 2001 to December 2002. RESULTS: One hundred and sixty cases of eye injuries were identified for study. Male patients (83.1%) were significantly more than female, while in the work-related group, male was predominant with 92.2%. Work-related injuries accounted for 48.1% (77 cases) with a mean age of 42.3 years, older than the 36.0 years mean for the non-work-related group. The most common cause of hospitalized injury was contusion injury (49.4%), while in the work-related group it was open-globe trauma (34.0%). Hyphema of anterior chamber (23.1%) was the most common diagnosis, followed by vitreous hemorrhage (15.6%) and corneal perforation (13.8%). In work-related injuries, lid and corneal lacerations were the most common. The visual prognosis was poor in injured eyes, with 39.6% eyes having final best corrected visual acuity less than 0.1, and it was even worse at 43.8% in work-related group. The most frequent (46.8%) durations of hospital stay were from 3 to 5 days. The mean cost of eye injuries per case in the work-related group was 1382 US dollars, significantly more than the 909 US dollars per case for the non-work-related group. CONCLUSION: The hospitalized ocular injuries incurred significant visual loss, health-care expenses and socio-economic impacts. Safety strategies aimed at preventing eye injury are mandatory.