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Abstract
Objective: To measure the frequency and outcomes of ocular trauma in a tertiary care hospital in Balochistan.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Quetta, from January 2022 to May 2023. A sample of 130 consecutive patients with ocular war injuries who reported to CMH Quetta from January to May 2023 was analysed prospectively. Approval from the hospital's ethics committee review board was obtained. The primary outcome was improvement in visual acuity and OTS score after the application of two types of management strategies: surgery or conservative management. Comparisons between the two groups were performed using the chi-square test.
Results: A total of 130 patients were analysed, including 81 in Group S and 49 in Group C. The baseline demographic characteristics were comparable between the groups. Post-treatment visual acuity and Ocular Trauma Score showed significant improvement, with a statistically significant difference between groups (p<0.001). In Group-S, primary repair with lens aspiration and anterior vitrectomy was the most frequently performed procedure (37.0%).
Conclusion: Ocular trauma, particularly war-related ocular injuries, is a significant cause of visual morbidity among patients presenting to a tertiary care hospital in Baluchistan. The outcomes varied according to the management strategy, with the assessment of visual acuity and Ocular Trauma Score providing useful measures of treatment response.
Keywords: Accidents, Cornea, Eye, Ocular, Trauma and Visual acuity
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