• Elif Eraslan, Yavuz Bardak, Levent Tök, Özlem Yalçın Tök, Dilek Özkaya, Yonca Sönmez, and Firdevs Örnek.
• Department of Ophthalmology, Süleyman Demirel University, Faculty of Medicine, Isparta, Turkey.
• Ulus Travma Acil Cer. 2011 Sep 1;17(5):413-8.

BackgroundWe aimed to evaluate the etiological and demographic characteristics of open globe injuries in geriatric patients, to determine the factors affecting the prognosis and to discuss the differences between geriatric and young populations in light of the current literature.MethodsThe medical files of 30 patients aged 65 years and older who were treated and followed up for open globe injuries between 1998 and 2009 were evaluated retrospectively.ResultsThe mean age was 73.1 years. Sixty percent of the patients were male, with a predominance of left eye involvement. The most common type of trauma was rupture due to a blunt object. The presenting visual acuity was no light perception in 13 patients, light perception/hand movement in 15 patients and 1/200-19/200 in 2 patients. In a univariate analysis assessing the effects of demographic and clinical characteristics on final vision, the wound location, type of trauma and Ocular Trauma Score were found to be statistically significant variations.ConclusionThe prognosis of open globe injuries is very poor in geriatric patients. Age-related structural changes and previous history of surgeries contribute to easy development of a rupture. During the treatment process, limited recovery capacity, ocular pathology in patients and low functional capacity in this age group exert negative effects on the prognosis.

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