Aim: The purpose of the study was to review cases of serious fireworks-related eye injuries presented in the Strasbourg (France) University Hospital ophthalmology emergency department and to analyze epidemiological and clinical data such as visual outcomes and risk factors.
Method: A 13-year retrospective study (1994-2007) including fireworks-related ocular and adnexal injuries requiring hospitalization was conducted.
Results: Thirty-nine patients were reported; 95% were male. The mean age was 19.38 years old. There was 61.5% contusions, 33.3% eye and adnexal burns, and 15.4% of the patients suffered from a penetrating injury. More than half of the patients required emergency ophthalmic surgical procedures. Twenty-six percent of the patients had final visual acuity of 20/400 or less.
Conclusions: Fireworks are a cause of severe eye injury in France. These injuries are potentially preventable, especially in young males.
Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.