A 10-Year Survey of Severe Eye Injuries in Sport in Belgrade, Serbia 2000-2009

Introduction: The eye injuries inflicted in different sport activities are relatively rare and depend upon the type of sport. They are more common in recreational sport activities. These injuries are generally minor but may be very severe and result in permanent vision impairment. One must be aware of the fact that these sport activities, either recreative or professional, are exercised by young people. Methods: All analyzed patients were hospitalized at the Clinic of Eye Diseases, Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, for severe eye injuries which occurred in sport activities. The analyzed period included 10 years, from the beginning of 2000 to the end of 2009. Results: In this period, a total of 117 patients with eye injuries sustained in some of sport activities were hospitalized. There were 114 (97.5%) injured males. Mean age of the injured was 25.8 years, and there were no individuals older than 50 years of age. Closed eyeball injures were reported in 96.6% and open injuries were seen in the remaining 3.4% of cases. During recreational sports, the eye injuries occurred in 76.1%, in the school—19.6%, and in professional sport—4.3% of the time. The injured individuals were as follows: pupils—35.0%, students—17.9%, workers—22.2%, clerks—20.6% and professional players—4.3% of cases. Upon completed treatment, visual acuity was normal in 77.8%, subnormal in 16.2%, impaired in 3.4% and amaurosis in 2.6% of cases.