33 cases of airsoft gun pellet ocular injuries in Copenhagen, Denmark, 1998–2002

Abstract

ABSTRACT.Purpose: To evaluate the incidence and ocular effects of blunt trauma due to injury from airsoft gun pellets. Methods: We conducted a non-comparative case series based on the files of 33 patients who suffered ocular injury from airsoft guns and were admitted to one university emergency eye clinic in Copenhagen during a 5-year period. Results: A total of 33 eyes in 33 patients were examined. Thirty male and three female patients were affected. Mean age was 13 years (range 3-49 years). Mean follow-up time was 6.5 days (range 1-540 days). On initial examination, we found: hyphaema (n ¼ 28), corneal abrasion (n ¼ 22), retinal oedema (n ¼ 11), subconjunctival haemorrhage (n ¼ 10), palpebral haemorrhage and ⁄ or oedema (n ¼ 9), iris dialysis (n ¼ 7), intraocular pressure (IOP) > 31 mmHg (n ¼ 4), IOP < 9 mmHg (n ¼ 4), vitreous haemorrhage (n ¼ 2) and cataract (n ¼ 1). One patient had brown corneal discoloration due to severe chronic hyphaema that required surgery. The final visual acuity was 1.0 in 20 patients and £ 0.7 in five patients. Conclusion: The airsoft gun trauma resulted in anterior and posterior segment ocular injuries that required acute medical intervention and for which some patients were hospitalized. Trauma mainly occurred in children and youths. A longterm risk of glaucoma is expected. Eye care professionals and parents as well as manufacturers of airsoft guns should advise participants to wear adequate protection when involved in this activity.

Toy gun ocular injuries associated with festive holidays in Kuwait

“…We postulate that this is because these toy guns are available to much younger children without age restriction. The mean age reported in the case series of Saunte et al [4] was 13 years, while in our series it was 7.8 years. A similar preponderance of ocular injuries in the 6-to 10-year age group was reported [7], with male children being affected more, due to their adventurous and aggressive nature [8,9].…”

“…The most recent case series, published in 2006 from Denmark [4], reports a total of 33 cases of airsoft gun ocular injuries over a 5-year period. Here, we report 19 cases of ocular injury from such guns in children associated with a 7-day holiday period, and compare our findings with those of previous studies.…”

Paediatric eye injuries in Finland – Helsinki eye trauma study

“…In Denmark, the incidence of airsoft gun injuries was reported to be 3.1 per million in the 'under-18' age group (Saunte & Saunte 2006). They caused glare because of dilated pupil, cataract and lowered VA.…”

Traumatic glaucoma with features of unilateral pigment dispersion

“…Sports-related injuries are commonly implicated causative agents, but a variety of other causes have been reported, including airbags, elastic cords injuries, bottle caps and corks, airsoft pellets, and paintball guns. [10][11][12][13][14][15] Elevated IOP in blunt trauma can be secondary to angle recession, inflammation, intraocular bleeding, lenticular dislocation, and, in severe blunt trauma, phacoanaphylaxis secondary to capsular rupture. [16][17] Multivariate analysis of 6,021 cases in the US Eye Injury Registry identified key features associated with the development of traumatic glaucoma: advancing age, presenting visual acuities <6/60, iridial or lenticular injuries, hyphema, or angle recession.…”