Pellet gun injury as a source of ocular trauma; a retrospective review of one hundred and eleven cases

Purpose: to report the demographic data, treatment methods, and outcomes among patients with pellet gun eye injuries. methods: this study was a retrospective review of all pellet gun eye injuries coming to farabi eye hospital, a referral ocular trauma center in iran, from february 2009 to november 2013. patients' demographics, type of injury, choice of management, complications, and post-treatment visual acuity were recorded. results: one hundred eleven patients with a mean age of 25.7 ± 15.6 years entered the study. the most common age group was younger adults (16–45 years old) (61.3%). the mean uncorrected visual acuity after treatment was 2.05 (20/2240) ±1.5 logmar. the most prevalent ocular zone was zone iii (38.7%), and an intraocular foreign body was present in 97 patients (87.4%). lid laceration and periocular tissue damage were present in 27 patients (24.3%). lensectomy and vitrectomy were the most common treatment (31.5%). in most patients (87.4%), the injury was non-deliberate, and the most common time of hospitalization was the same day (45.0%). the only statistically significant indicator of post-treatment visual acuity was ocular trauma score (ots) at admission (p < 0.001). at the end of follow-up, enucleation was performed for 20 patients (18%), and thirty-six patients (32%) had no light perception (nlp) in vision. conclusion: pellet gun injuries were more common among young male patients, and the only statistically significant indicator of post-treatment visual acuity was ots at admission.