Clinical characteristics and prognostic factors for visual outcome in 669 patients with intraocular foreign bodies

AIM: To describe the clinical characteristics and analyze prognostic factors that influence visual outcome in 669 patients with intraocular foreign bodies (IOFBs).METHODS: Medical records of 669 patients with IOFBs from West China Hospital were reviewed. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) values were recorded using standard Snellen acuity chart and were converted to logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) scale for statistical analysis. The visual outcome was defined by the final BCVA (excellent visual outcome: final BCVA of 20/40 or better; poor visual outcome: final BCVA less than 20/200). Statistical analysis of collected data was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 23. A 2-tailed P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant throughout the study.RESULTS: The average age ranged from 1 to 79 years old (mean age, 34.8±12.7 SD) and the majority of patients were men (626, 93.6%). The major cause of ocular injury was hammering (383, 57.2%). Almost all the patients (97.8%) underwent surgeries (97.8%) and the average time interval between injury and surgery was 26.4±322.3d (0-7300), while 327 patients received surgeries within 24h (48.9%) and 590 patients received surgeries within seven days (88.2%) after IOFBs injury. The poor BCVA was associated with older age (P=0.013), larger IOFBs size (P<0.001), presence of complications (P<0.001) and worse presenting BCVA (P<0.001). On the contrary, younger age (P=0.005), smaller IOFBs size (P<0.001), absence of complications (P<0.001) and better presenting BCVA (P<0.001) were considered to relate to excellent BCVA.CONCLUSION: Multiple prognostic factors may influence the final visual outcome, including age, size of IOFBs, complications and presenting BCVA. Meanwhile, further education and promotion on eye protection should be taken for the improvement on self-protection and self-health awareness.