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Ocular Trauma

Boonkit Purt, MD and Brittany E Powell, MD Reviewed 04/2024
 


BASICS

  • Ocular trauma is often underrecognized and is a leading cause of vision loss in the developed world. It can lead to vision loss through direct loss of the eye or indirectly due to cataract, gla...

DIAGNOSIS

  • A high suspicion for ocular trauma is key to the immediate diagnosis and initiation of treatment.

  • Diagnosis is often guided by history. As with all trauma patients, it is often necessary to p...

TREATMENT

While there are no universally accepted guidelines for the management of open globes, there are several that are in wide use. 
Open globe: 
  • Consult ophthalmology emergently.

  • Administer antibiot...

ONGOING CARE

PATIENT EDUCATION

  • Patients should be advised to wear safety glasses.

  • Any patient with a globe injury will need continued monitoring by an ophthalmologist.

PROGNOSIS

The patient’s presenting v...

REFERENCES

1
Iftikhar M, Latif A, Farid UZ, et al. Changes in the incidence of eye trauma hospitalizations in the United States from 2001 through 2014. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2019;137(1):48–56. doi: 10.1001/...

ADDITIONAL READING

  • Boyette JR, Pemberton JD, Bonilla-Velez J. Management of orbital fractures: challenges and solutions. Clin Ophthalmol. 2015;9:2127–37. doi: 10.2147/OPTH.S80463....

CODES

CLINICAL PEARLS

  • Maintain a high suspicion and initiate treatment immediately. 

  • Obtain appropriate imaging to evaluate for intracranial trauma, intraocular foreign body, or orbital bone fractures.

  • Treat ...

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