PURPOSE: To study the prevalence of superficial ocular trauma due to foreign bodies in patients during occupational activities. METHODS: Prospective study of patients with occupational ocular trauma diagnosed at the Hospital Getúlio Vargas (HGV) / Universidade Federal do Piauí (UFPI), from October 1997 to March 1999. The following data were obtained: age, gender, occupation, affected eye, activity performed at the time of the trauma, nature and localization of the foreign body and posterior complications. RESULTS: 713 patients were studied, of whom 686 (96.21%) were males and 27 (3.79%) were females. The patients were affected mainly in the third decade of life, corresponding to 312 patients (43.75%). In relation to the activity performed during the trauma, 158 patients (22.16%) were metallurgists, 153 (21.46%) locksmiths and 126 (17.67%) mechanics. Concerning the foreign body, 489 (68.58%) were iron and 47 (6.59%) were other metals. Regarding localization, 587 foreign bodies (81.64%) were in the cornea, 75 (10.43%) in the tarsal conjunctiva, 49 (6.81%) in the bulbar conjunctiva. In addition to the foreign bodies 361 (48.38%) patients presented corneo-conjunctival abrasion. CONCLUSION: The superficial foreign body is an important cause of occupational ocular trauma. The most frequent component was iron, and the patients were mainly metallurgists, locksmiths and mechanics, males in their thirties.
Occupational accidents; Eye foreign bodies; Eye injuries; Protective devices; Cornea; Blindness
