Epidemiology of occupation-related ocular trauma in Esfahan

Occupation trauma is a social and economic problem which industrialization in developing countries has increased its prevalence. This study was designed to assess the distribution of occupation – related ocular trauma in Esfahan. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, all first time referrals to eye emergency department in Feiz Hospital who suffered from occupation-related trauma were evaluated using questionnaire designed according to United State Eye Injury Registry. A total of 450 (27.9%) out of 1610 patients, consisting 447 male (99.3%) and 3 female (0.7%) who referred to Feiz Hospital had occupational-related trauma and their mean age was 30.4 (15-62) years old. A total of 202 patients (44.9%) were 21-30 years old. The level of education in 162 (36%) subjects was junior high-school and 110 of them (24.4%) were arc-welders. Metallic foreign body injured 70.2% of patients and in 62.2% of subjects, corneal foreign body was the most common injury. Only 19.6% of the patients used protective goggles and 15.1% (68) of them had been receiving educational instructions for eye healthcare and safety strategies. At the end of the treatment, visual acuity of 12 (2.8%) subjects was significantly decreased. Occupation–related ocular trauma was a very prevalent eye injury in Esfahan. Metallic foreign body was the most common causative agent and corneal injury was also the most common form of ocular injury. Thus convincing workers to use protective goggles and giving education about correct way of using them is an effective step to prevent ocular injuries.