SPORTS-RELATED OCULAR INJURIES - A 3-YEAR FOLLOW-UP-STUDY

Purpose: The authors performed a sports-related ocular injuries evalua tion with periodic patient observation and follow-up, to outline the s everity and long-term sequelae of eye injuries in sports. Methods: A p rospective study was conducted of 84 consecutive patients (85 injured eyes) with sports-related eye injuries examined at the Eye Emergency D epartment of Porto S. Joao Hospital, between April 1992 and March 1995 . The ophthalmologic examination was recorded using the United States Eye Injury Registry report forms, and the follow-up ranged from 3 mont hs to 3 years. Results: Injuries occurred predominantly in young males (mean age, 24.8 +/- 9.6 years). The type of sport and the mechanism m ost frequently responsible for injuries were, respectively, outdoor an d indoor soccer (72.6%) and ball trauma (64.3%), Of 45 patients presen ting with hyphema, 24 (53.3%) had vitreous and/or retina (V/R) lesions (95% confidence interval [CI], 38.8-67.5) compared with 13 of 39 (33. 3%) patients with no hyphema (95% CI, 20.0-49.1), Angle recession was significantly more common in the presence of hyphema (55.6%; 95% CI, 4 1.0-69.5 vs, 10.3%; 95% CI, 3.3-22.9; P < 0.00005), and retinal tears were more common in the presence of vitreous hemorrhage (P = 0.004), N ineteen of 58 (32.8%) patients with ''normal'' visual acuity (greater than or equal to 20/40) presented with V/R lesions. Hyphemas were sign ificantly more frequent in soccer players (38/61 vs, 7/23, P = 0.018). Conclusion: These results highlighted the serious nature of outdoor a nd indoor soccer injuries. The severity of the anterior segment injury was not a good predictor of posterior segment damage. Ophthalmologist s can help prevent delayed consequences by including regular gonioscop y and peripheral retinal examination in all cases of blunt trauma, The United States Eye Injury Registry report forms adapted to sports prov ed to be a useful tool for collecting detailed information and sharing a common database.