Severe ocular injuries from improperly disposed medical syringes in children.

This report describes ocular injuries caused by syringes in children. The records of 12 children injured with syringes were reviewed. There were seven cases of endophthalmitis, two cases of panophthalmitis, one case of retinal detachment, one case of endophthalmitis with retinal detachment, and one case of traumatic cataract. All patients received treatment within 24 hours of presentation. Patients presented an average of 8.4 days after injury. Final visual acuity ranged from no light perception to counting fingers at 90 cm in eight patients and could not be assessed in four patients. Improperly disposed syringes may pose a significant risk for ocular injury and visual loss in children, especially when presentation is delayed.