Ocular trauma, visual acuity related to time of referral and psychosocial determinants, during COVID‑19 pandemic: A prospective study

Elli D O Kyriakaki; Efstathios T Detorakis; Antonios K Bertsias; Georgios Markakis; Nikolaos G Tsakalis; Panagiotis Volkos; Demetrios A Spandidos; Emmanouil K Symvoulakis

doi:10.3892/etm.2023.11829

Ocular trauma, visual acuity related to time of referral and psychosocial determinants, during COVID‑19 pandemic: A prospective study

Exp Ther Med. 2023 Feb 8;25(3):130. doi: 10.3892/etm.2023.11829. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Authors

Elli D O Kyriakaki^{1

2}, Efstathios T Detorakis¹, Antonios K Bertsias², Georgios Markakis³, Nikolaos G Tsakalis^{1

4}, Panagiotis Volkos⁵, Demetrios A Spandidos⁶, Emmanouil K Symvoulakis²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Heraklion, 71500 Heraklion, Greece.
² Clinic of Social and Family Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71500 Heraklion, Greece.
³ Department of Social Work, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece.
⁴ Department of Ophthalmology, General Hospital of Ierapetra, 72200 Ierapetra, Greece.
⁵ 4th Local Health Team, Academic Unit of Heraklion, 71303 Heraklion, Greece.
⁶ Laboratory of Clinical Virology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71500 Heraklion, Greece.

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to explore the associations between visual outcomes of ocular injury patients in a tertiary hospital unit with clinical and demographic variables and to evaluate the psychosocial impact of the injury on the patients. An 18-month prospective study of 30 eye-injured adult patients was conducted in the General University Hospital of Heraklion, Crete, a tertiary referral hospital. All severe eye injury case information was prospectively collected between February 1, 2020 and August 31, 2021. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was labelled not poor (>0.5/10 or >20/400 on the Snellen scale, <1.3 in LogMAR scale) and poor (≤0.5/10 or ≤20/400 on the Snellen scale, ≥1.3 on the LogMAR equivalent). Data regarding participants' perceived stress levels, by using Perceived Stress Scale 14 (PSS-14), were collected prospectively, one year after study end. Out of 30 ocular injury patients selected, 76.7% were men and most of them were self-employed and private or public sector workers (36.7%). Not poor final BCVA was related to not poor initial BCVA [odds ratio (OR) 1.714; P=0.006]. No statistical associations were found between visual outcome and demographic or clinical factors, but not poor final BCVA was associated with improved self-reported psychological condition of the sufferers, as examined by a questionnaire sheet developed to collect information for study purpose (8.36/10 vs. 6.40/10; P=0.011). No patient reported job loss or changed work status following the injury. Not poor initial BCVA was a significant predictor for not poor final visual outcomes (OR 1.714; P=0.006). Patients with not poor final BCVA expressed higher levels of positive psychology (8.36/10 vs. 6.40/10; P=0.011) and less fear of eye injury repetition (64.0 vs. 100.0%; P=0.286). Not poor final BCVA was associated with low PSS-14 scores one year after study end (77.3 vs. 0.0%, P=0.003). Collaboration between ophthalmologists, mental health professionals and primary care team may be important in order to help patients to cope with the psychosocial burden sequel to eye trauma.

Keywords: ocular injury; prospective; psychosocial determinants; referrals; visual outcomes.

Grants and funding

Funding: No funding was received.