CHARACTERISTICS OF OPEN-GLOBE INJURIES IN ELDERLY PATIENTS

Introduction: This study evaluated the clinical characteristics, outcomes, and prognostic factors of open-globe injuries (OGI) in geriatric patients. Materials and Method: Hospital records of patients diagnosed with OGI between 2014 and 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into two groups: >= 65 years (geriatric) and 20-64 years (adult). Age, gender, nature of trauma, Initial visual acuity ( VA), clinical signs, surgical procedures, final VA, and additional complications were reviewed and compared between groups. Correlation analyses were performed using the Spearman/ Pearson correlation and the Student's t-test. A multiple linear regression model was used to identify independent predicting factors for final VA. Results: There were 34 patients each in the geriatric (23 males, 11 females) and the adult (30 males, 4 females) groups with mean ages of 70.5 +/- 8.5 and 38.8 +/- 10.9 years, respectively (p<0.001). The most frequent OGI was globe rupture (25 patients, 73.5%) in the geriatric group and penetrating trauma (23 patients, 67.6%) in the adult group (p=0.001). The most frequent cause of trauma was falls (29.4%) in the geriatric group and metal objects (32.3%) in the adult group. Initial VA in the geriatric and adult groups was 0.037 +/- 0.10 and 0.29 +/- 0.31, respectively (p<0.001). The mean ocular trauma score (OTS) in the geriatric and adult groups was 50.3 +/- 14.5 and 64.7 +/- 16.7, respectively (p=0.001). Final VA in the geriatric and adult groups was 0.16 +/- 0.24 and 0.55 +/- 0.36, respectively (p<0.001). Both groups exhibited a correlation among initial VA and final VA (p1=0.005, r1=0.487; p2<0.001, r2=0.730). The primary parameters influencing OGI prognosis in the geriatric group were age, initial VA, OTS, and trauma type. Conclusion: OGI differs between geriatric and adult groups based on demographic, clinical, and prognostic characteristics of the trauma. Increased age, low initial VA and OTS, and presence of globe rupture were identified as potential risk factors for poor final VA.