Ocular injuries caused by less-lethal weapons in France

• Published in: The Lancet (British edition) Vol. 394; no. 10209; pp. 1616 - 1617
• Main Authors: Chauvin, Aurore, Bourges, Jean-Louis, Korobelnik, Jean-François, Paques, Michel, Lebranchu, Pierre, Villeroy, Frederic, Chiquet, Christophe, Arndt, Carl, Fournier, Pierre, Villain, Max, Mouriaux, Frederic, Thuret, Gilles, Cochereau, Isabelle, Burillon, Carole, Kodjikian, Laurent, Sahel, José-Alain, Gaudric, Alain, Bodaghi, Bahram
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 02.11.2019; Elsevier Limited; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Cataracts; Eye Injuries, Penetrating - epidemiology; Eye Injuries, Penetrating - etiology; Female; France - epidemiology; Human health and pathology; Humans; Injuries; Life Sciences; Male; Middle Aged; Surgery; Weapons - classification; Weapons - statistics & numerical data; Weapons/clasification; Wonds and Injuries/etiology; Wounds and Injuries - diagnostic imaging; Wounds and Injuries - epidemiology; Wounds and Injuries - etiology; Young Adult; France; Middle East; United States > US; China; Europe
• ISSN: 0140-6736; 1474-547X
• DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)31807-0

Since the introduction of so-called less-lethal weapons in France in the late 1990s, there has been no legal requirement to collect data on injuries induced by kinetic impact projectiles, and no epidemiological surveys have been planned. To estimate the number of patients with ocular injuries caused by the use of these defensive tools, a retrospective survey was sent to all ophthalmology department chairs in French university hospitals, which are where the most severe cases are managed. Demographic data, date of trauma, initial ophthalmological examination and any specialised investigations, initial and immediate surgical management of the injury, follow-up, and visual prognosis were documented and transmitted anonymously.We compiled data from patients seen between February, 2016, and August, 2019 (figure). 43 cases were identified, of which 20 (47%) were managed in Paris. The cases included 38 men and five women, with a median age of 26 years (range 15–59).