Epidemiology of severe childhood eye injuries that required hospitalisation.

We conducted a retrospective study of all paediatric ocular injuries that were treated at the Prince of Wales Hospital between October 1991 and January 1997. Of the 60 injuries reviewed, eight (13.3%) resulted in some degree of visual deficit. The mean age was 5.5 years and the average male to female ratio was 2.75:1. The distribution of injuries was as follows: contusions, 29 (48.3%); non-penetrating lacerations, 14 (23.3%); penetrating lacerations, six (10.0%); chemical burns, six (10%) and superficial foreign bodies, five (8.3%). Thirteen (21.7%) ocular injuries were associated with common household items, seven (11.7%) injuries were due to toy gun pellets, and five (8.3%) injuries were sports-related. A total of 28 operations were performed on 21 patients, and the mean duration of hospital stay was 3.6 days. The visual outcome depended mainly on the type and severity of the injury. Some childhood eye injuries are preventable by means of more public education, improved safety measures, and closer adult supervision.