Ocular injuries from paintball pellets

Objective: To evaluate the ocular effects of blunt trauma due to injury fro m a paintball pellet. Design: Noncomparative case series. Participants: Thirteen patients who suffered ocular injury from paintballs are described. The patients presented to six different civilian and militar y emergency departments in tertiary cave medical centers. Intervention: Patients were treated for the ocular injury. Main Outcome Measures: Patients were evaluated for initial and final visual acuity. The reason for persistent loss of vision was delineated. Results: There were 12 males and 1 female with an average age of 21 years ( range, 12-33 years). Eleven of the 13 had no ocular protection at the time of the ocular injury. On initial examination, nine patients had a hyphema, nine had a vitreous hemorrhage, six had a retinal tear or detachment, three had corneal or corneal-scleral ruptures, and one had traumatic optic neuro pathy. The final visual acuity was 20/40 or better in two patients, 20/50 t o 20/150 in three patients, and 20/200 or worse in eight patients. Conclusion: Injuries due to paintball pellets can result in severe ocular d amage and significant loss of vision. Eyecare professionals should be aware of the risks of this sport and must strongly advise participants to wear a dequate protection when involved in this activity.