METHODS: The Birmingham Eye Trauma Terminology (BETT) system was used to classify injuries as globe ruptures, penetrating eye injuries (PEIs), intraocular foreign bodies (IOFBs) or perforating injuries. Demographic data, past ocular history, mechanism of trauma, ocular injuries, and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) before and after treatment were recorded.
RESULTS: The 205 OGIs included 80 globe ruptures, 71 PEIs, 48 IOFBs and six perforating injuries. Falls predominated in older age groups compared to the other mechanisms of injury (p<0.0001). A fall was responsible for 33 globe ruptures and 82% of these had a history of previous intraocular surgery. Globe rupture and perforating injuries had poorer visual outcomes (p<0.05), consistent with previous studies. Alcohol was implicated in 20 cases of OGI, with 11 of these due to assault. PEIs and IOFBs commonly occurred while working with metal. BCVA was significantly worse following removal of an intraocular foreign body. We found presenting BCVA to be a good predictor of BCVA at the time of discharge.
CONCLUSIONS: The causes of OGI varied in association with age, with older people mostly incurring their OGI through falls and younger adults through assault and working with metal. Globe ruptures occurring after a fall often had a history of intraocular surgery. The initial BCVA is useful for non-ophthalmologists who are unfamiliar with the ocular trauma score to help predict the BCVA following treatment.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: Male patients aged 50 years and above (including indigenous people) with angiographically diagnosed significant CAD in the recent one year were screened for AAA. Standard definition of abdominal aortic aneurysm and CAD was used. All new patients were followed up for six months for AAA events (ruptured AAA and AAA-related mortality).
RESULTS: A total of 277 male patients were recruited into this study. The total prevalence of undiagnosed AAA in this study population was 1.1% (95% CI 0.2-3.1). In patients with high-risk CAD, the prevalence of undiagnosed AAA was 1.7% (95% CI 0.3-4.8). The detected aneurysms ranged in size from 35.0mm to 63.8mm. Obesity was a common factor in these patients. There were no AAA-related mortality or morbidity during the follow-up. Although the total prevalence of undiagnosed AAA is low in the studied population, the prevalence of sub-aneurysmal aortic dilatation in patients with significant CAD was high at 6.6% (95% CI 3.9-10.2), in which majority were within the younger age group than 65 years old.
CONCLUSION: This was the first study on the prevalence of undiagnosed AAA in a significant CAD population involving indigenous people in the island of Borneo. Targeted screening of patients with high-risk CAD even though they are younger than 65 years old effectively discover potentially harmful asymptomatic AAA and sub-aneurysmal aortic dilatations.