Eye injuries at a tertiary health centre in West Black Sea region, Turkey

Background: To investigate clinical aspects, the visual prognosis in eye injury and to constitute datum to national statistics, in the West Black Sea Region, in Turkey
Methods: A retrospective analysis of 281 eye trauma cases admitted to the emergency department of Zonguldak Karaelmas University Hospital between 2001 and 2010 was performed.
Results: A majority of eye injuries (42.7%) affected individuals between the ages of 30 and 50 years. The most frequent cause of injury was wooden objects in rural areas. The most frequent cause of injury was work site injuries in males between the ages of 30 and 50 years. Corneal-scleral lacerations were found to be the most serious injuries with regard to initial and final visual acuities.
Conclusion: Eye injuries are still the most common and preventable cause of blindness. Simple precautions and public education might prevent this health problem which causes loss of labor force, economic loss and psychological problems. One of the basic precautions would be raising public awareness on wearing seat belt inside the car and protective eyeglasses at the work site and while working in rural areas.

Batý Karadeniz bölgesinde üçüncü basamak bir saðlýk merkezindeki göz yaralanmalarý

Amaç: Türkiye’nin Batý Karadeniz bölgesindeki göz yaralanmalarýnýn klinik özelliklerini ve görsel prognozunu belirlemek; ulusal istatistiklere veri oluþturmak.
Gereç ve Yöntem: Zonguldak Karaelmas Üniversitesi Hastanesi Acil Servisi’ne 2001-2010 yýllarý arasýnda baþvuran 281 göz yaralanmasý olgusu geriye dönük olarak incelendi.
Bulgular: Göz yaralanmalarýnýn büyük kýsmý (%42.7) 30 – 50 yaþlarý arasýnda meydana gelmiþti. Yaralanmalarýn en sýk (%28.8) nedeni kýrsal alanda ahþap kaynaklý maddelerle yaralanmalar iken, 30 – 50 yaþ arasý erkeklerde en sýk neden iþyeri yaralanmalarýydý. Kornea-skleral kesiler ilk ve son görme keskinliði açýsýndan en ciddi yaralanma olarak belirlendi.
Sonuç: Göz yaralanmalarý hala sýk ve önlenebilir bir körlük sebebidir. Alýnacak basit tedbirler ve halkýn eðitimi sayesinde; iþ gücü kaybý, ekonomik kayýp ve psikolojik sorunlara yol açan bu önemli problemin önüne geçilebilir. Trafikte emniyet kemeri takýlmasý, iþ yerlerinde ve kýrsal alanda çalýþýrken koruyucu gözlük takýlmasý konusunda halkýn bilinçlendirilmesi alýnacak tedbirlerin baþýnda gelmektedir.