Ocular injuries from liquid golf ball cores

A Scoping Review of the Associations of Golf with Eye Injuries in Adults and Children

Introduction. Sport presents a risk of ocular trauma and accounts for a significant number of eye injuries that require hospital admission. The sport of golf presents a risk to eyesight from fast moving objects such as golf clubs and balls. This study aims to investigate the associations of golf with eye injuries and the reasons that these injuries occur. Material/Methods. A literature search was conducted using the databases MEDLINE, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, and PsycINFO. Grey literature was searched using the WHO international clinical trials registry platform, Google Scholar, and ProQuest. Data was extracted using a standardised form and summarised into a report. Results and Discussion. Twenty-three studies were found relating to eye injuries in golf. Injuries appear to be rare, but more frequent in men and children. Injuries resulted in high rates of enucleation and visual impairment. Children sustained more injury from golf clubs whereas adults sustained more injuries from golf balls. Conclusion. Efforts are needed to encourage golf participants to understand the risks of ocular and indeed other head injuries. Initiatives to provide appropriate supervision and education on this topic are merited. Further research is needed to investigate the circumstances of eye injury in golf and assess the effects of interventions aimed at reducing risk of injury.

COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF GOLF-RELATED OCULAR INJURIES

PURPOSE

The authors aimed to analyze the causes and outcomes of golf-related ocular injuries in this retrospective meta-analysis, literature review, and original case series.

METHODS

Forty-one articles identified by PubMed search resulted in 11 included studies yielding 102 subjects. Included articles described all ocular golf injuries that presented to an institution during a determined period. Eight factors were analyzed: age, sex, location and mechanism of injury, protective eyewear use, resulting open-globe injury, resulting enucleation, and visual acuity changes.

RESULTS

No subjects wore adequate protective eyewear. Significantly more subjects were injured by golf balls (72%) than golf clubs (27%) or foreign body (1%) (P < 0.0001). The ratio of golf ball to club injuries was significantly higher in adults (92%) than in children (23%) (P < 0.0001). Forty-seven of 93 (51%) injuries resulted in an open globe, whereas 27/82 (33%) injuries resulted in enucleation. The mean ± SD logMAR visual acuity improved by -0.641 ± 0.745 after treatment (>6 lines of improvement; P = 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

Reported ocular golf injuries occur less frequently than other ocular sports injuries, but may result in devastating outcomes. Supervision of children using golf equipment should be encouraged.

Visual outcome and ocular survival after sports related ocular trauma in playing golf

PURPOSE

To study eye injuries. More specifically, to study the visual performance and ocular findings in people generating the eye trauma while golfing and to define the main mechanisms of injury.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed a case series of seven patients with golf-related eye injuries treated at Austrian hospitals over the last seven years in a multicenter setting.

RESULTS

Five men and two women received treatment. The mean age was 46 (range, 29-63), and three of the patients had blunt close globe trrauma and four suffered from a ruptured globe. Following the injuries, the patients' initial visual acuity ranged from no light perception to 20/40. All of the patients recquired surgery, with the resulting visual acuily ranging from moving hands to 20/20. It should be noted that three eyes required enucleation.

CONCLUSION

Visual outcome from surgery is frequently very poor in golf related injuries. This is further complicated by these traumas frequently being accompanied by a high enucleation rate. Among the patients reviewed, it was observed that ruptured globe trauma has a worse prognosis than close blunt trauma. Due to the severe resulting complications of golf-related ocular injuries, we believe eye protection should be considered and emphasized.

Golf-related ocular injuries

PURPOSE

To examine patient outcomes from golf-related ocular injuries.

METHODS

Retrospective case review of patients treated at the University of Michigan during the six-year period from November 1989 to October 1995.

RESULTS

Of nine injuries treated in the six-year period, six of the patients with ocular injuries from golfing required enucleation. Seven of the injuries were from golf balls, and remaining two were injuries from golf clubs.

CONCLUSION

Although unpredictable and difficult to avoid, proper golf etiquette and safety may diminish the incidence of golf-related ocular injures.

Eye injury in sport

Eye injury sustained during sport is increasing in incidence worldwide, reflecting the rise in popularity of sport as recreation. It can account for up to 25% of severe eye injuries. This paper considers the historical context and demography of sports injuries, and the physical mechanisms and results of various types of ocular trauma in relation to sport. It reviews the specific problems associated with the sports considered to be most important in the epidemiology of eye injuries today. Certain sports, such as boxing, have an intrinsic risk of injury so high that some consider the sport should be banned. The risk of injury in many sports can be mitigated by changes in rules, such as the prevention of high sticking in ice hockey. Other sports with high risk of trauma could be made far safer with the widespread introduction of eye protection, and this applies especially to squash and badminton. The various types of eye protection are discussed. There is an urgent need to increase awareness of the risk of eye injury, to teach safe techniques, and to encourage the use of appropriate ocular protective wear in those at high risk of injury, especially the one-eyed.