A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY ON THE SEVERITY AND MANAGEMENT OF PEDIATRIC OCULAR INJURY

Pediatric ocular trauma is a significant public health concern, with potential long-term consequences on vision and quality of life. This study was aimed at investigating the severity and management of pediatric ocular injuries in Sapele, Delta State. A retrospective study was carried out to analyze the clinical record of pediatric patients that presented to Central Hospital within January 1st, 2020 to October 1st, 2024. A total of 223 patients, males 139 (62.3%) and females 84 (37.7%), were found to have pediatric ocular injury with a mean age of 11.46 ± 4.7. The moscommon type of injury sustained was the closed globe injury (76.1%) followed by open globe injury (6.7%) while thermal injury (1.8%) was the least frequently seen. Injuries were found to be caused by physical assault (14.4%), broomsticks (6.3%) and even self-inflicted (5.3%). The cornea was the most affected structure (57.4%) by pediatric ocular injury. An initial visual acuityof 6/6 was recorded (22.6%) for a good percentage of the patients that were compliant. Therewas a statistically significant relationship between the initial visual acuity and the cause of injury(p<0.05). Majority of pediatric ocular injuries (87.9%) that presented to the hospital wermanaged medically. Corneal ulcer was the most common (n=77) diagnosis of pediatric patientsthat visited the hospital and it took an average of one week to heal. More than half of thepediatric patients had mild injuries (57.8%). Chi-square test was used to determine if there wassignificant relationship between the severity of injury and initial visual acuity. The result gave p<0.05 showing that there was a statistically significant relationship. 49 eyes (22.0%) of the