English summary: OCULAR SPORTS INJURIES

Background

Sports-related ocular injuries are a significant cause of ocular trauma. In Finland, it has been noticed that numerous serious ocular injuries result from floorball, which is especially popular among the young. The aim of this study was to investigate the types of sports responsible for ocular injuries, clinical findings and short-term therapeutic interventions, in order to give recommendations for protective eyewear use.

Methods

All patients with new ocular injuries (565) admitted to the eye emergency department of Helsinki University Eye Hospital during a six-month period were included in the study. The data was collected from patient records and patient surveys. In addition, 3 case reports of serious ocular floorball injuries are represented.

Results

Of the 565 ocular injuries, 94 (17%) resulted from playing sports. Of these 94 sports injuries 42 (45%) were caused by floorball. The median age of the floorball patients was 22 years. The most common clinical finding was hyphema, occurring in 55% of the sports injury patients. Floorball caused 10 and other sports 15 injuries which were clinically graded as serious in the short-term observation period. In the survey 45% of the sports injury patients were willing to acquire protective eyewear.

Conclusions

Floorball belongs to the highest risk category for ocular sports injuries. We highly recommend the use of protective eyewear for floorball players.