Ocular penetrating trauma of the anterior segment: Correlation between the final visual result and the operative waiting time

Trauma penetrante ocular del segmento anterior: Correlación entre el resultado visual final y el tiempo de espera operatorio

Objective: to determine the relationship between the time in which the surgical treatment was established and the final postoperative visual result in patients with penetrating ocular trauma of the anterior segment.
Type of study: descriptive of series of cases.
Methods and procedures: We reviewed 246 medical records of patients who consulted the Hospital of San José between January 1997 and January 2003, for penetrating ocular trauma of the anterior segment, which were tabulated and a statistical analysis was performed at 95.
Variables: age, sex, time at which the trauma occurred, time at which the surgical procedure was performed, time between the trauma and the surgical procedure, visual acuity at hospital admission and that of the last postoperative control, anatomical area involved, presence of intraocular foreign body (CEIO), existence of crystalline rupture, retinal detachment (RD), use of intravenous antibiotics and endophthalmitis.
Results: 74% of the patients were men, 46% were between 11 and 30 years of age, 63% improved the initial visual acuity and 24% remained stable. 48% of the patients were operated between 13 and 24 hours after presenting the trauma, without statistically significant difference in visual acuity among those who operated at any time during the first 36 hours. 89% of traumas compromised zone 1 and 2 of the anterior segment, in 100% of patients intravenous antibiotics were used, 3 presented endophthalmitis, 7 had CEIO, 35 had DR, and 23% showed lens rupture.
Conclusions: we did not find a significant difference from the statistical point of view, between the surgical waiting time and the final visual acuity, during the first 36 hours after the trauma. 63% of patients had improvement of three lines in visual acuity, statistically significant.

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