An evaluation of visual outcome of corneal injuries in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

The cornea, as the most anterior structure of the eye, is exposed to various hazards ranging from airborne debris to blunt trauma of suf icient force to disrupt the globe itself. As a result, corneal injury may assume multiple forms and clinical presentations. Because the cornea is also the major refracting surface of the eye, minor changes in its contour result in signi icant visual problems [1]. Blindness is a major public health problem in most developing countries. Corneal opaci ication, as a cause of blindness, is second only to cataract in magnitude [2]. One of the most important preventable and avoidable causes of corneal blindness is corneal injuries. By understanding the different types of injuries to which the cornea is exposed, the practitioner may more capably manage these injuries and minimise the structural and visual sequelae of corneal injury. Ocular trauma and corneal ulceration are serious public health problems that are occurring in epidemic proportions [3]. Corneal opaci ication often leads to unilateral blindness, as exempli ied by trauma, which is the leading cause of unilateral blindness in the world with a prevalence of 2% [4]. The most frequent causes of corneal blindness in at least one eye included keratitis during childhood (36.7%), trauma (28.6%), and keratitis during adulthood (17.7%). Nearly 95% of all corneal blindness was avoidable [5]. Corneal and corneoscleral perforation and subsequent scarring due to ocular trauma may result in a variable amount of blindness [6]. Corneal abrasions (removal of part or all of the corneal epithelium) are one of the most common ophthalmic injuries [7]. Second to corneal abrasions, corneal foreign bodies are the Abstract