Impact of follow-up loss over visual deficiency in open-globe ocular trauma

Introduction: Open-globe ocular trauma causes visual deficiency; calculating the magnitude of the latter often misses the estimation in patients without follow-up. Objective: to identify the modification of the postoperative proportion of visual deficiency in open-globe ocular trauma, which would introduce considering the proportion estimated in patients without follow-up. Methods: Non-interventional, retrospective, longitudinal, analytical study. Visual outcome in eyes with open-globe trauma, with and without follow-up, was calculated using the Ocular Trauma Score. The observed postoperative proportion of visual deficiency was identified in eyes with follow-up; in eyes without follow-up, the postoperative proportion of visual deficiency was estimated using an analysis of scenarios: best (Ocular Trauma Score), mean (that of eyes with follow-up) and worst (last observation/no visual improvement). The estimated proportion of visual deficiency was added to that observed in eyes with follow-up, and the resulting proportion was compared with that expected in the sample, using the Ocular Trauma Score (chi(2)). Results: 104 eyes, 70 without follow-up and 34 without it. In eyes with follow-up the expected proportion of visual deficiency was 58.6%, and the observed one was 71.4% (p = 0.1); the estimated proportion of visual deficiency in eyes without follow-up was 76.5%. The resulting postoperative proportion of visual deficiency in the sample would be 73.1%, which would overcome that expected by the Ocular Trauma Score (59.6%, p = 0.04). Conclusions: In open-globe ocular trauma, the efficacy of surgery to reduce the proportion of visual deficiency would decrease with regard to the standard expected by the Ocular Trauma Score, if the deficiency estimated in eyes without follow-up were considered.