Demographic, clinical features, and outcomes of pediatric non-penetrating ocular foreign bodies

Purpose: Data regarding ocular foreign body (FB) in the pediatric population is sparse. The purpose of this study is to describe the demographic features and the outcomes of pediatric non-penetrating ocular FB. Methods: The charts of all children with non-penetrating ocular FB who presented at a tertiary medical center between 2011 and 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Data analyzed included demographics, ocular FB site, the need for general anesthesia, or sedation for FB removal and clinical outcomes. Results: Three hundred and fifty-two children (58.8% boys) with a mean age of 7.7 ± 3.7 years were included. Two hundred and fifty-one (71.3%) children presented on the same day of injury. Patients with developmental delay presented more often with restlessness than patients without developmental delay (p < 0.0001). One hundred and forty-six (41.5%) of FBs were found on the conjunctiva, 128 (36.4%) under the eyelid, and 62 (17.6%) on the cornea. In 19 (4.5%) cases, general anesthesia or sedation was required for FB removal. A multivariate analysis identified young age (OR 0.976, 95% CI 0.961–0.992, p = 0.003), corneal FB (OR 50.84, 95% CI 10.08–256.37, p < 0.0001), and developmental delay (OR 18.56, 95% CI 1.22–283.45, p = 0.036), as significant predictors for the need of general anesthesia or sedation. Among patients with corneal FB, in two (3.2%) cases, the corneal FB was complicated by infectious keratitis, resulting in mild corneal scar. Conclusion: The rate of general anesthesia for non-penetrating ocular FB removal in children is low. Children presenting with non-penetrating ocular FB have good prognosis without long-term complications.