Soccer-Related Ocular Injuries

Abstract

To outline the severity and long-term sequelae of eye injuries in soccer.Design: Prospective observational study of 163 patients who sustained soccer-related ocular injuries between April 1, 1992, and March 31, 2000 (8 years). Methods:Patients were observed at a sports ophthalmology unit located in the largest university hospital of the northern region of the country and central to all major soccer fields in town. The data were recorded using the United States Eye Injury Registry report forms for initial and follow-up observation. Main Outcome Measures:(1) Self-reported history surrounding the ocular trauma, initial visual acuity, diagnosis, and operations and (2) final visual acuity, late diagnosis, and additional operations.Results: Injuries occurred predominantly in young men (mean±SD age, 23.2 ± 8.8 years) practicing indoor soccer (50.9%) or outdoor soccer (47.2%), and most re-sulted from a kicked ball (79.1%) near the goalpost (60.1%). Angle recession and peripheral vitreoretinal lesions were more likely to occur in the superotemporal quadrant (54.7%; 95% confidence interval, 44.2%-65.0%; and 57.6%; 95% confidence interval, 48.4%-66.4%; respectively). Vitreoretinal lesions were present in 42.2% (95% confidence interval, 33.1%-51.8%) of patients with "normal" visual acuity (Ն20/40) and in 50.0% (95% confidence interval, 38.1%-61.8%) of patients without hyphema. No significant association was found between severity of injury and age, sex, type of soccer, level of athletic expertise, or player position.Conclusions: Severe ocular lesions can occur in soccer players without symptoms and at all skill levels. The development of laboratory models will be essential to explain the tendency for lesions to be in the superotemporal quadrant. The data support the need for protective eyewear designed specifically for soccer.

Eye injury (ocular trauma) in southern Turkey: epidemiology, ocular survival, and visual outcome

“…In total, 61 (29%) of our patients had good final vision and 23 (11%) of all patients had moderate final vision. This corresponds with findings of previous reports [19][20][21]. Closed-globe injuries and self-sealing corneal penetrations have favorable prognosis in terms of visual outcome, as they resulted in good vision.…”

“…Also, a statistically significant relationship was found between the place where the injury occurred and age group. Except for the [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] year age group, streets were the most common place. A previous study from our clinic on pediatric eye injury reported a similar outcome [15].…”

Characteristics of Open-Globe Injuries in Northwestern Portugal

“…Football (soccer) is the major sport; the size of the football and the impediment of using the hands to play may protect against ocular laceration. However, several major ocular injuries have been reported in this sport [14,15,16,17]. …”

Sports eyewear protective standards

“…During the rebound a secondary suction effect is caused that distort the globe and its contents . As a consequence, ocular injuries, particularly of younger players, are widely reported …”