Traumatic Cataract in a Tertiary Health Facility, South East, Nigeria: Incidence and Causes

Objective: Ocular trauma is a significant cause of visual impairment and the leading cause of uniocular blindness worldwide. Traumatic cataract is one of the sequelae of ocular trauma and one of the pathways to visual impairment or blindness following a traumatic eye injury. This study aimed to determine the incidence of traumatic cataracts and the common objects and circumstances of trauma leading to traumatic cataracts. Methods: A 1-year retrospective study involving all patients who presented with eye trauma between January and December 2019 at Enugu State University of Science and Technology Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria. Case files of patients were retrieved from the medical records department, the required information was extracted and entered into a proforma designed for the study. Only patients whose records met the inclusion criteria were included. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS, version 22. Any P -value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: In total, 115 patients out of 386 patients with ocular trauma who were followed up for ≥ 3 months developed cataracts, giving an incidence of 29.8%. The incidence was 33.8% and 24.1% among males and females, respectively. Eye injuries sustained during various work activities were the commonest causes of traumatic cataracts, and a stick was the commonest object of injury. Conclusion: A significant proportion of ocular trauma cases in the study population resulted in traumatic cataract. The commonest circumstances of trauma leading to traumatic cataract were injuries sustained during work activities. Efforts at reducing such injuries may help reduce the incidence of traumatic cataract.