HOSPITAL BASED SURVEY OF OCULAR EMERGENCIES IN UNIVERSITY OF UYO TEACHING HOSPITAL

ABSTRACT This study was done on hospital based survey of ocular emergencies, to identify traumatic and non- traumatic ocular emergencies reported and documented in University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH). A better understanding of the factors influencing visual outcomes is important in an attempt to improve management procedures for each ocular emergency. The research was done as a retrospective study and data was collected from January 2021 to January 2023 in the ophthalmology department of University of Uyo Teaching Hospital. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25, analysis of variance (ANOVA) at 95% confidence interval. A total of 200 patients revealed a mean age of 42.92 years with a standard deviation of 19.032. Out of the 200 subjects, 107(53.5%) were female and 93(46.5%) were males. However, 33(16.5%) were in the age group (2-22 years), 66(33.0%) were in the age group (23-43 years), 61(30.5%) were in the age group (44-64 years) and 40(20.0%) were in the age group (> 64 years). 158(79.0%) of the ocular emergencies were non-traumatic and 42(21.0%) of the ocular emergencies were traumatic. However, chi-square revealed that certain occupation had more ocular emergencies when compared to the others (p=0.006) and the factor that influences the rate of ocular emergencies to a very high extent is occupation (OR>1). Furthermore, in the determination of the various management procedures for each ocular emergencies it was revealed that 132(66.0%) cases were managed using non-surgical procedures while 68(34.0%) cases were managed using surgical procedures. Chi-square test revealed that the various management procedures for each ocular emergencies were not significantly different (p=0.319). Awareness should be created on the prevention and management of ocular trauma. Parental supervision should be encouraged, as children are more susceptible to trauma. Protective eye wears should be made available at work places. Optometrist should be encouraged to always use surgical and non-surgical methods of managing ocular emergencies as both methods are effective. If preventive measures are properly and efficiently taken most ocular cases would not be emergent.