الفهرس 
Acknowledgements
Preventing Eye Injuries in ChildrenOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
The present study is an observational, analytic, follow-up, hospital-based study. The study has been conducted at Ophthalmology Department of Assiut University Hospitals during a period extended from the beginning of July 2016 to the end of June 2017. The study aimed to investigate ocular traumas among a quota sample of 64 patients aged less than 18 years, regarding the socioeconomic backgrounds of the study participants, etiology, pattern, management, and prevention of ocular traumas. Data of this study has been collected through personal interviews with patients themselves, or with their relatives depending on the situation. A proper questionnaire has been used as a tool for data collection by the researcher herself. Some cases received the optimal care and discharged on the same day, others needed admission for surgical and medical treatment and close supervision, depending on seriousness of the traumas. On discharge, all study cases have been instructed to revisit the Ophthalmology Department for follow-up and to reassess their visual acuity (VA). Not all cases subjected to assessment of VA (either initial or final) only 51 cases out of the 64 study cases were subjected to such procedure, the other 13 cases were too young or didn’t cooperate with the researcher. Regarding the personal data of the study cases, results of the current study revealed for instance the following facts. The mean age of the study cases was ± SD= 7.42 ± 4.50 yrs. Male cases comprised 70.3% versus 29.7% for female cases. Vast majority of cases (85.9%) came from rural areas, versus 14.1% who came from urban areas. Regarding the educational level of the cases, 42.2 % were under age (<6 years), 3.1% were illiterate, 45.3% were affiliated to basic education, and 9.4% were affiliated to secondary education. Regarding the etiology of eye trauma sustained by the study cases, results of the present study reported hitting the eye with an object from any source comprised 62.5%, while hitting the eye by an object during playing comprised 31.3%. Regarding the place where the study cases exposed to eye trauma, the study revealed that more than one-half of incidents (53.1%) were home accidents, on the other hand, street accidents represented 39.1% and workplace accidents represented 7.8%. Regarding the time elapsed since trauma occurrence and seeking medical care, results illustrated that vast majority of cases (81.3%) presented to Ophthalmology Department, Assiut University Hospitals seeking medical care after less than 24 hours since occurrence of eye trauma, whereas 18.8% of cases presented after 24 hours or more from occurrence of eye trauma. Regarding the final diagnosis of eye trauma among study cases, results revealed that corneal wounds occupied the first rank (71.9%), whereas, the scleral wound were on the last rank (6.3%). Regarding the surgical treatment offered to study cases, results showed that that vast majority of cases (81.3%) subjected to repair of corneal wound, irrigation/ aspiration of hyphema represented 26.6% , followed by irrigation/ aspiration or rupture cataractous lens which represented 21.9%, then repair of scleral wound represented 15.6%, vitrectomy (anterior or core) represented 10.9%, and lastly other surgical procedures such as irrigation/ aspiration of pupillary membranes, reposition of prolapsed iris and intravitreal injection of steroids or antibiotics represented 6.3%. Study findings illustrate that VA of only 49.0% of the study cases get improved. The improvement was better among cases aged ≥ 10yrs, males, and rural. cases. Regarding the relationship between place of eye trauma incident and outcome of VA among study cases, results revealed that improvement was better in home accidents, where the level of improvement was 64.0%, compared with 36.0% & 0.0% for street and workplace accidents respectively, with significant statistical difference of P-value = 0.037. Regarding the relationship between time of presentation and outcome of eye trauma among study cases, results of the current study showed that cases presented earlier (< 24 hours) since occurrence of accident, had better outcome than those who presented later (≥ 24 hours) (84.0% versus 16.0%) with insignificant statistical difference between the two times. (P-value= 0.214). The study recommends upgrading the community awareness via mass media and educational curricula pertaining the eye injuries in general, with especial emphasis on pediatric eye injuries. These health education topics should cover for instance, the following themes and messages eye safety at home, Eye safety outdoors, and when the child should visit the eye healthcare provider, etc. Recommendations Based on the results of the current study, the researchers recommend the following: Construction of database for statistics of eye injuries with special emphasis on pediatric issues. This will offer a good opportunity to health planners and policy makers to design an effective and efficient preventive program for eye injuries. Integrating eye injuries into the non-communicable diseases’ surveillance program. Integrating eye injury issue into the school educational syllabus. Integrating eye injury prevention program into the National Injury Prevention Program. Upgrading the community awareness regarding pediatric eye injuries though mass media, maternal and child health care facilities and all concerned institutions.