Visual disability in selected acts of terror, warfare, and natural disasters of the last 25 years: A concise narrative review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5055/ajdm.2008.0003Keywords:
visual acuity, ocular injury, ophthalmologic injury, mass disaster, terrorism, bioterrorism, war, earthquake, flood, volcano, hurricane, tsunamiAbstract
Objective: A review of ocular injury related to mass disaster over the past 25 years, including injury type, treatment, and final visual outcome.
Design: Retrospective review.
Main Outcome Measures: Injury types, treatment, and final visual acuity.
Results: Acts of terror and war result in significant and increasingly more common ocular injury. Natural disasters were much less likely to cause lasting or permanent injury.
Conclusions: Final visual acuity was rarely reported. Primary prevention is superior to treatment in acts of war and terror. Ocular injury is rarely reported by first response to natural disaster.
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