ABSTRACT
Ocular trauma represents the leading cause of monocular blindness globally and accounts for an estimated one-third of all eye-related emergency department (ED) visits in the United States each year. Therefore, the goal of this chapter is to serve as a guide for acute care physicians, written by ophthalmic surgeons, for the rapid diagnosis and initial management of the most common ocular traumatic conditions seen in the acute care setting. The recommendations arising from this review are based on the strongest available level of evidence and are intended to familiarize nonophthalmic physicians with recent advances in diagnosis and primary interventions for these ocular conditions. The presence of an ocular foreign body (OFB) is considered an ocular emergency, requiring urgent diagnosis and treatment to maximize the chances of visual improvement and prevent globe loss. OFB patients are typically male, with injury most often occurring in the workplace (i.e., hammering).
