TITLE:
Functional, Aesthetic, and Psychosocial Outcomes of Ocular Trauma in Two Hospitals in Douala
AUTHORS:
Stève Robert Ebana Mvogo, Jean Audrey de Jésus Ndongo, Hassan Aboubakar, Hassan Njifon Nsangou, Fadila Ebombe, Jeanne Mayouego, Anne Ngobo Etoa, Aronette Ngouanou, Kuntz Eric Mbassi Ndocko, Côme Ebana Mvogo
KEYWORDS:
Ocular Trauma, Prognosis, Psychosocial Impact, Douala
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ophthalmology,
Vol.16 No.1,
December
30,
2025
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Eye injuries are a public health problem in our community due to their frequency and the severity of their consequences. We aimed to study the functional, aesthetic, and psychosocial prognosis of eye injuries. Materials and Methods: We conducted a longitudinal study over a period of three years (1st January 2021 to 31st December 2023) at Douala Laquintinie Hospital and at Douala Gynaecology, Obstetrics and Paediatrics Hospital. The variables analysed were: age, gender, occupation, time to consultation, circumstances of occurrence, nature of the trauma, therapeutic measures, and sequelae. A quality of life assessment questionnaire was used to evaluate the psychosocial impact. We looked for factors associated with poor prognoses. The significance threshold was p Results: We collected data on 134 patients for a total of 268 eyes. The sex ratio was 2.43 and the average age was 31.06 ± 17.41 years. Only 16.7% of trauma patients consulted within the first 24 hours. Domestic and road traffic accidents were the most common, accounting for 28.6% and 23.14% of cases, respectively. Blindness was found in 9.32% of eyes and visual impairment in 8.20%. The main cosmetic complication was corneal scarring (9.5%). A significant psychosocial impact was found in 76.11% of patients. Age Conclusion: Eye injuries generally affect young males. These injuries cause aesthetic, functional, and psychosocial sequelae.