Efficacy and Safety of 23-Gauge Pars Plana Vitrectomy/Silicone Oil Tamponade Combination for Treatment of Pediatric Post-Traumatic Endophthalmitis

Purpose: To determine (i) the etiology, epidemiology, mechanism of injury, and risk factors associated with open globe injuries (OGIs) in children and (ii) visual outcomes of pediatric patients with post-traumatic endophthalmitis following 23-gauge pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) combined with silicone oil tamponade (SOT).Methods: A total of 107 consecutive patients, <15 years of age, who had been diagnosed with post-traumatic endophthalmitis between September 2009 and October 2015, were included in this 6-year retrospective study. All patients had undergone a combined PPV and SOT procedure. We reviewed records and analyzed several parameters, including age, gender, wound anatomy, intraocular foreign body characteristics, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and anatomic re-attachment of the vitreous. Visual acuity (VA) was evaluated by comparing the Ocular Trauma Scores (OTS) system with BCVA (as assessed by Fisher's exact test).Results: Patients included 70 (65.42%) boys and 37 (34.58%) girls (mean, 7.84 2.31 years). Mean follow-up time was 13.31 +/- 3.15 months. Zone-1 injuries accounted for 15 of 107 (14.02%) cases, while Zones-2 and -3 accounted for 69 of 107 (64.49%), and 23 of 107 (21.50%) cases, respectively. Lens trauma was noted in 53 of 107 (49.53%) eyes. Our analysis showed that the 6-month BCVA, as assessed by OTS, differed significantly between groups OTS-1 (p = 0.001) and OTS-2 (p = 0.012). No significant difference was observed in group OST-3 (p = 1.000). Total retinal attachment was achieved in 99 of 107 eyes (92.52%).Conclusions: Following combined PPV/SOT for post-traumatic endophthalmitis, VAs were not only favorable, but also often better than those predicted by OTS. Increased awareness of the very serious nature of endophthalmitis is expected to help in the development of a comprehensive strategy designed to educate both parents and children, and to minimize the number of preventable pediatric OGIs.