Eye injuries in the U.S. Armed Forces

OBJECTIVE: To develop prevention and treatment modalities for eye injuries, ophthalmologists require epidemiological data on the various types of eye injuries. This study sought to define eye injury patterns in the U.S. armed forces. METHOD: Data on patterns of eye injury in the armed forces were obtained through voluntary reporting by U.S. military ophthalmologists throughout the world. The reporting format was standardized with the U.S. Eye Injury Registry initial and follow-up report forms. The data were analyzed for significant injury patterns. RESULTS: Data on 112 patients were submitted, representing a broad range of the military population. Data on a total of 96 patients with a 6-month follow-up were analyzed in this study. Immediately after injury, 43% of the patients were noted to have poor vision (worse than 20/200). After treatment, only 20% were noted to have poor vision. Patients lost an average of 21.6 days of work after a severe eye injury. CONCLUSION: An eye injury is a traumatic and potentially debilitating event. The loss of visual acuity can be drastic, resulting in an extensive recovery period.