title: Potential impact of seatbelt use on the spectrum of ocular injuries and visual acuity outcomes after motor vehicle accidents with airbag deployment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the association between seatbelt use and (1) the spectrum of ocular injuries and (2) visual acuity outcomes after motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) with airbag deployment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Single-center retrospective observational case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-seven patients involved in MVAs with airbag deployment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical record review of all patients evaluated after an MVA with airbag deployment between January, 1997, and August, 2005, at a single level 1 trauma center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Type of ocular injury and visual acuity at 3 months after an MVA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-one percent of patients who did not wear seatbelts experienced type III ocular injuries compared with 31% who wore seatbelts (P<0.0002). Posterior segment injuries occurred only in patients who did not wear seatbelts. At the 3-month follow-up, 76% of patients who did not wear seatbelts achieved a visual acuity of 20/40 or better compared with 96% of patients who wore seatbelts (P>0.10); a visual acuity worse than 20/200 was measured in 14% and 0% of patients in the 2 groups, respectively (P<0.03).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the current study, the use of seatbelts was associated with less severe ocular injuries and better visual outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Division of Ophthalmology, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
authors.forename: Sunil K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Paul B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Greenberg
authors.forename: Theodoros
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Filippopoulos
authors.forename: Ingrid U
authors.initials: IU
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Nickolas P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Katsoulakis
authors.forename: Yoash R
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Enzer
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017278:Air Bags; D005131:Eye Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012237:Rhode Island / Q000453:epidemiology; D012622:Seat Belts / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*