The Challenge of Contact Lens Visual Rehabilitation for Open Globe Injuries in Children Under 5 Years of Age.

Purpose To investigate the clinical course of children younger than 5 years old who underwent rigid gas-permeable (RGP) contact lens (CL) wearing as visual rehabilitation of open globe injuries (OGIs) in Japan. Methods This retrospective case series involved six eyes of six children (four boys and two girls) with OGIs. The mean patient age at injury was 4.0±0.83 SD (range: 2.5-5 years), and the mean follow-up period was 42.9 months (range: 31.6-52.8 months). In each child, data regarding injury type, ocular surgery performed, outcomes of amblyopia management (including best-corrected visual acuity [BCVA] with RGP CL or spectacles), the RGP CL-wear training period, and rate of continuous RGP CL-wear were analyzed. Results Trauma type was penetrating injury (four eyes) and globe rupture (two eyes). All six cases showed lens penetration, and underwent corneal suture, lensectomy, and pars plana vitrectomy under general anesthesia. The mean RGP CL-wear training period was 3.5 months, and only one of the six cases discontinued RGP CL use. The mean BCVA with spectacles and with RGP CL was LogMAR: 1.52±0.41 (range 1.00-2.00) and 0.73±0.41 (range: 0.30-1.15), respectively. In all patients, except in one case in which strabismus developed, BCVA improved with RGP CL wear more than 0.2 logMAR compared with that with spectacles. Conclusion Although the training period for RGP CL-wear is long in pediatric patients with OGIs, the treatment can be effective for refractive problems and for preventing the development of strabismus.