prevalence, pattern and factors associated with ocular trauma among adult road traffic accident survivors seen at mulago national referral hospital casualty department

Description

Background: Ocular trauma is the leading cause of unilateral blindness worldwide. It is a major cause of visual morbidity and disability with socio-economic impact, making it a public health problem. Road traffic accidents are among the top risk factors for ocular trauma. There is a dramatic increase in the number of road traffic accidents among developing countries. In Kampala, road traffic accidents are the commonest cause of trauma and the leading cause of surgical admission at Mulago national referral hospital. There is no documented study on the prevalence, pattern and factors associated with ocular trauma among road traffic accident survivors in Uganda. Aim: To determine the prevalence, pattern and factors associated with ocular trauma among road traffic accident survivors seen at Mulago national referral hospital casualty department. Methods and Materials: The study was a hospital based cross-sectional study on 428 road traffic accident survivors seen at the Mulago hospital casualty department from January to March 2020. Participants who met the inclusion criteria were recruited systematically until the required sample size was reached. Informed consent was obtained from all the study participants. Details of the history, clinical examinations and investigations were recorded using a questionnaire. Data were entered using Epi data version 3.1 and analysed using STATA version 14.0. Results: A total of 428 participants were recruited. Mean age was 31.6 (SD±8.6) years, ages ranging from 18-65 years. There was a male preponderance with male-female ratio of 5 : 1. The prevalence of ocular trauma was 34.6% (CI 30.2-39.2). The most common ocular injuries included periorbital oedema and ecchymosis 77.0%, sub-conjunctival haemorrhage 62.5%, partial thickness lid laceration 32.4% and chemosis 18.9%. Seventeen eyes were blind secondary to the ocular trauma. There was a statistically significant relationship between ocular trauma and age, male gender, and passengers. Conclusion and recommendations: The prevalence of ocular trauma among the road traffic accident survivors was high. One in every three RTA survivors had ocular trauma. Sight-threatening injuries must be urgently referred to the ophthalmologist and the public should be sensitised on the use of safety measures while driving or riding to prevent road traffic accident – related ocular injuries and blindness.