Ocular Trauma Visual Outcomes during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution

Purpose: To report the pattern of ocular injuries attending the ophthalmic casuality room and outpatient clinics of Kasr El-Aini Hospital in Egypt, during the period of the 2011 Egyptian revolution (25th January revolution) as well as to predict the visual prognosis of these injuries.Methods: Retrospective, non-comparative study using medical records in Cairo University (Kasr El-Aini) Hospital. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 11 software. Prediction of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was categorized using the ocular trauma score (OTS) grading system.Results: 192 patients were included in the study. Mean age was 28.4±8.98 (range from 12 to 51). Males represented 96.9% (186 cases). Bilateral eye injuries occurred only in 9.4% (18 cases). Gunshot was the leading cause of globe injury; 84.4% (162 cases). 79.2% (152 cases) of patients were admitted due to open globe injury, with 82 (42.7%) patients showed retained intraocular foreign body (IOFB). Patients with retinal detachment represent 51% (98) of all cases. grade 1 OTS was found in 36 cases (18.8%), grade 2 in 123 cases (64.1%), grade 3 in 26 cases (13.5%), grade 4 in 7 cases (3.6%), and no cases in grade 5 OTS (0.0%). Conclusions: Ocular injuries due to plastic bullets used in civil uprising fights lead to huge number of devastating ocular injuries with poor visual prognosis and bad impact on the patients, their families, and the society, necessitating prohibition of the use of such gunshots in civil situations.