Traumatic vitreous haemorrhage in adults: a two year experience

Introduction

Vitreous haemorrhage(VH) is the presence of extravasated  blood within the vitreous cavity. Traumatic injury contributes to significant ocular morbidity in our settings.

Objective

To ascertain the pattern/s of injury in traumatic VH in adult patients who attended the Eye unit, TH Kandy.

Methods

Retrospective analysis of adults with traumatic VH between September 2013 and August 2015

Results

During the study period 58(24.5%) adults presented with traumatic VH out of 236 adults presented with a vitreous haemorrhage. Out of these, 86% were males. The mean age was 43 years (20-72 years).The majority were at or below 40 years (41.4%).

Most of them had sudden loss of vision (77%) and the right eye was involved in most instances (69%). Presenting visual acuity ranged from 6/36 to non perception of light (NPL). Mean intraocular pressure was 16 mmHg (6-30). All the patients were free of co-morbidities except one patient who had hypertension.

Trauma profile accounted for; blunt trauma (67%), penetrating injury(21%) and blast injuries(12%).

Associated ocular injuries were corneal laceration (69%), iris damage (20%), lens subluxation(36%) and retinal detachment(27.5%)

Conclusion

Nearly a quarter of VHs occur due to trauma which has a highest incidence among the young adults.  Blunt or penetrating trauma can injure intact vessels directly therefore it is the leading cause of VH in young adults and it is a preventable etiology