Incidence and risk factors in secondary glaucomas after blunt and penetrating ocular trauma.

PURPOSE: This retrospective study was designed to evaluate the risk factors for the development of posttraumatic glaucoma after ocular trauma.

METHODS

Data were obtained from the records of 102 patients (105 eyes) that experienced blunt or penetrating ocular trauma and presented to our center between January 1987 and April 2006. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between the baseline structural and functional ocular characteristics and posttraumatic glaucoma. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were obtained.

RESULTS

Need for glaucoma surgery was independently associated with hyphema (odds ratio: 0.279; 95% CI: 0.085-0.916), corneal injury (odds ratio: 12.143; 95% CI: 2.029-72.66), presence of optic atrophy (odds ratio: 8.000; 95% CI: 1.615-39.636), visual acuity <20/200 (odds ratio: 50.00; 95% CI: 10.183-245.501), and a history of penetrating ocular trauma (odds ratio: 10.00; 95% CI: 2.819-38.635). Corneal (odds ratio: 1.113; 95% CI: 1.022-1.213) and vitreal injuries (odds ratio: 10.410; 95% CI: 1.232-87.97) were found to be statistically significant factors for the development of early glaucoma.

CONCLUSIONS

This study found several independent predictive factors that were significantly associated with the need for glaucoma surgery in cases of posttraumatic glaucoma, including hyphema, corneal injury, presence of optic atrophy, visual acuity <20/200, and a history of penetrating ocular trauma. Additionally, some factors were found to affect the development of early glaucoma after ocular trauma, such as corneal and vitreal injury.