Ocular trauma secondary to the use of tear gas during social protests in Chile
Abstract
Introduction: Tear gas canisters (TGCs) are a crowd control tool in the context of protests, mainly generating temporary discomfort at the ocular, skin and respiratory level. There are few records of traumatic eye injuries due to TGCs. Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe a series of eye trauma (ET) secondary to TGCs who attended the Eye Trauma Unit of Hospital del Salvador between October 18 and November 30, 2019. Materials and Methods: Descriptive observational study. Demographic data, primary and secondary diagnoses, presence of severe ET, visual acuity (VA) upon admission, and need for surgery were analyzed. Results: 32 patients were included, 28 male (87,5%) and 4 female (12,5%), Average age was 32,3 years (range 16-51 years). Principal diagnosis was closed globe injury in 20 cases (62.5%), and open globe injury in 9 (28.1%). According to criteria of the Chilean “Explicit Health Guarantees”, 26 (81.3%) were classified as serious ET. 23 patients (71.9%) were admitted with some degree of visual deficit, highlighting 10 patients (31.3%), whose VA on admission was classified as blindness. 8 patients (25%) required surgery, the most frequent being surgical repair of open ET (50%), and evisceration of the intraocular content (37.5%) Discussion: TGCs are frequently used by law enforcement agencies to disperse demonstrations due to their ability to generate temporary disability. However, they can have serious health consequences, including permanent visual sequelae.Keywords:
Eye Injuries, Civil Disorders, Tear Gases, Cartridge, Eye EviscerationReferences
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