Ten-year review of traumatic hyphaema cases in a tertiary hospital in the east coast of Malaysia

Purpose: Traumatic hyphaema is a common sequela following blunt trauma. The aim of this study was to analyse the demographics, complications, and visual outcome of patients presenting with traumatic hyphaema at a tertiary hospital in the East Coast of Malaysia. Methods: Retrospective study based on medical records from 2011 to 2021. Results: A total of 41 eyes from 41 patients were included in the study. The mean age of patients was 22.2 years (± 15.1 SD), with 39.1% within 25–59-years of age. The incidence was higher among males (90.2%). Sports and recreational activities were the most common causes (61.0 %), followed by occupational (12.2%) and domestic causes (12.2%). More than half the patients sought treatment within 24 hours of injury (56.1%). The majority of patients presented with grade 1 hyphaema (68.3%), while 2.4% came with severe hyphaema (grade 4). Re-bleeding was noted in 2 patients, both were below 12 years old, on day three and day eleven respectively. Six patients (14.6%) had presenting intraocular pressure IOP > 30 mmHg. Mean presenting visual acuity was 6/36 (± 0.89 SD) and mean visual acuity post-treatment was 6/7.5 (± 0.15 SD). There was a significant difference between mean presenting visual acuity and visual outcome (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Despite serving mainly a rural population, sports and recreational activities remained the most common cause of traumatic hyphaema in this centre. Raising public awareness for protective eyewear should be advocated in this population.