Abstract
Purpose: :
To analyze injuries occurring in elderly patients.
Methods: :
Among the records of 1297 open globe injuries who were primarily treated at the Universities of Freiburg and Würzburg between January 1, 1981 and December 31, 2005, we retrospectively identified 140 ruptures (10,8%) among elderly (more than 65 years)
Results: :
Among these ruptures among seniors (more than 65 years old), preceding cataract surgery was identified in 38 % of injured persons. This rate is twice as high as anticipated in the general population in this age group. In 1981 to 1985 36% of the injured eyes had previous surgery, between 1986 and 1989 40%, between 1990 - 1995 49%, between 1995 - 2000 25% and between 2001 and 2005 19% (table). We could identify large incisions as a risk factor for ruptures. After the introduction of small incision techniques at the beginning of the 1990s, the frequency of globe ruptures began to decrease.
Conclusions: :
Elderly patients are more likely to have poorer outcome than those under 65 years of age. Their injuries are more severe (rupture due to fall) and they more likely had previous surgery. Small incision cataract surgery is protective against the risk of ruptures, since after the introduction of small incision cataract surgery the absolute number of injuries and the percentage of eyes with previous surgery declined.
Keywords: trauma • retina • cataract