Changes of Patterns and Outcomes of Ocular and Facial Trauma Among Children in Jordan

Introduction The eye is the second most common organ affected by trauma after hands and feet. Eye trauma is a common cause of visual morbidity and may result in irreversible visual impairment and blindness. Ocular and facial trauma contribute to significant proportions of visual deficits among young children. This study aimed to explore the changes in trend including the pattern and outcomes of ocular and facial trauma among children between the last twenty years. Methodology A retrospective study was conducted between January 2020 and April 2021. The medical records of the patients who attended the Royal Medical Services (RMS) military hospital between January 1999 and December 2019 suffering from eye trauma which required hospitalization were enrolled in the study and reviewed regarding age, gender, mechanism of trauma, the severity of the trauma, eye structures involved, and visual outcome. The patients were divided into three groups based on the time of trauma: Group A for injuries in the period (January 1, 1999 to December 31, 2005), Group B for the period (January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2012), and Group C for the period (January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2019). The collected data was analyzed and compared to explore whether there is any change in the pattern and visual morbidity of eye injuries over time. The most frequent finding of eye injury was corneal wound in Groups A and B patients, while in Group C the most common ocular injury was ecchymosis or sub-conjunctival hemorrhage. Results Three-thousand one-hundred and thirty only patients (3130 eyes) aged between 2 and 14 years (mean 7.11 ± 3.13) were included in the study. The male to female ratio was 2:1. 1864 patients (56.6%) were at five years of age or younger. The most common place of injury in the three groups was on the street. This ratio decreased from 64.0% in Group A to 48.8% in Group C. Stone was the commonest etiology of injury in Group A (38.0%) while wood and fall were the commonest in Group B (28.5%) and Group C (37.1%) respectively. Open globe injuries constituted 67.0% of patients in Group A, 64.7% of patients in Group B, and 51.2% of patients in Group C. Normal or mild visual impairment was noted in patients of Group C (43.9%) as compared to the patients in Groups A (7.5%) and B (8.3%) at presentation. The final vision of normal or mild visual impairment was reported in 37.1%, 38.5%, and 77.5% of patients in Groups A, B, and C respectively. Conclusion The current study is a retrospective analysis of twenty years in Jordan and has comprehensively explored the trends and patient outcomes with respect to ocular and facial trauma among children. We revealed that over time, such injuries became less frequent and less serious than before with better patient outcomes. Furthermore, higher rates of closed globe injuries were reported in recent years. There was a dramatic increase in the rate of indoor injuries compared with outdoor ones which were mostly caused by falls with better initial and final visual outcomes. These injuries are preventable with the implementation of adequate safety measures which would significantly reduce the burden of visual impairment and cosmetic disfigurement among youngsters.