[Open globe injuries in children: retrospective study of 62 cases].

The open globe injuries in children are frequent and serious accidents. The purpose of this study is to investigate the epidemiologic and clinical characteristics and the visual outcomes of this accident. A retrospective study was conducted on 62 cases in the Ophthalmology department between January 2001 and December 2005. The mean age of admission was 7.5 years. Fifty-one patients were males and twelve were females. Open globe injuries occurred most frequently in the street. The wounds involved the cornea in 66.1% of the cases. There was iris hernia in 30 cases, hyphema in 20 cases and traumatic cataract in 15 cases; in 8% of the cases a foreign body was detected. Final visual acuity was 0.5 or better in 28%. This finding emphasizes that educative measures should be taken into consideration in order to prevent this accident.