Trauma News

This video, first-prize winner at the European Meeting of Young Ophthalmologists, shows a new weakening technique used by the authors, Gonzalo García de Oteyza, MD, and Juan García de Oteyza, MD, PhD, to treat inferior oblique overaction.

WASHINGTON — The growing popularity of nonpowder firearms, including paintball guns, airsoft guns, BB guns and pellet guns, represent a significant risk of ocular injury among children with the potential for permanent disability, according to data presented at the 2015 AAP National Conference and Exhibition.

A positive correlation between penetrating ocular injuries and symptoms related to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the pediatric population was found in a clinical study.

The use of mandatory protective eyewear by female field hockey players has reduced incidences of eye and orbital injuries, as well as severe face and head injuries, according to research published in Pediatrics.

The ophthalmology service was consulted for an otherwise healthy 6-year-old girl who was hit in the right eye by her brother with a pen 3 days before presenting to the emergency room. The patient’s mother thought her daughter seemed fine immediately after the event. However, over the next few days, the child complained of increasing irritation in her right eye. The mother took a closer look and was alarmed when she saw a “brown bubble” on the right eye.

Elderly patients with open-globe injuries have a poor visual prognosis, according to a study. The retrospective review included the charts of 90 patients who were 65 years or older and had open-globe injuries. Open-globe injuries were categorized as ruptures (83.3%) or penetrating lacerations (16.7%) from falls, accidental traumas, motor vehicle accidents and assault. The majority of injuries were ruptures caused by falls.

The ophthalmology service at Tufts Medical Center was consulted for a “blown pupil” in the right eye of a 2-year-old boy. He was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit after falling approximately 15 feet from an unsecured bounce house that was lifted into the air by a gust of wind.

Two recent mass-casualty incidents, just 2 days apart, shed light on how the ophthalmic community can better respond to future catastrophic events.

CHICAGO — Vision impairment is only one of Bob Woodruff’s lasting sequelae after living through near-fatal injuries from a roadside bomb explosion in Iraq almost 9 years ago.

Potentially blinding ocular injuries from incidents such as the Boston Marathon bombing and the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, are common, making the integration of ophthalmologists into regional trauma teams critical, according to researchers.