Abstract

A survey was performed of all patients attending the combined Glasgow Eye Infirmary and Western Infirmary Eye Casualty Department with sports injuries. During an 18-month period a total of 246 patients presented with such injuries. Football was responsible for 110 (44.7%), rugby for 24 (9.8%), squash for 19 (7.7%), badminton for 16 (6.5%), and skiing for 9 (3.7%), and 68 (27.6%) were caused by other sports. One hundred and sixty-two patients (65.8%) had superficial or surrounding soft tissue injuries, 54 (22%) had more severe anterior segment damage in the form of hyphaema or traumatic uveitis, 17 (6.9%) had retinal damage manifest as oedema or retinal tear with or without detachment, and two (0.8%) suffered severe disruption of the globe with subsequent loss of the eye in each case. Forty-six (18.7%) required inpatient care and 200 (81.3%) were treated as outpatients, of whom 104 required at least one follow-up appointment (42.3% of the total). I conclude that with increasing time available for leisure activities there has been a parallel increase in sport associated eye trauma.