Presence of visual field defects in cases of trauma

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Siobhan Manners*, Lynn Meuleners, Jonathon Ng and Nigel Morlet

The University of Western Australia, Australia

: Int J Ophthalmic Pathol

Abstract

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Purpose: This project aimed to assess the frequency and severity of visual field defects in people who experience falls and other trauma, as listed in the Western Australian State Trauma Registry. Method: Visual field data was obtained from hospitals, the Lions Eye Institute and private practices throughout WA. The data was then linked through the WA Data Linkage System to the State Trauma Registry, WA ICWA and WAPol crash database, Hospital Morbidity Data Collection, Emergency Data Collection and the Deaths registry to allow for assessment of outcomes. The frequency of visual field defects in persons who experienced a physical trauma were then identified from the linked database. Results: The cohort is all people aged over 65 at the time of their first visual field test where their visual field test was between 1980 and 2018; this is 36,548 people. There were 7,867 trauma records, 55.6% of which involved males and 52.8% of which were aged over 80 years at the time of the trauma. 64.9% were falls from standing height and 9.2% were motor vehicle accidents where the record holder was the driver. 42.2% of people who had a crash had some visual field defect. Conclusion: Using visual field data and linked trauma records it is apparent that visual field defects play a significant role in the occurrence of trauma. This is an important consideration in point of care interactions with patients and provides evidence to guide policy and patient choices in regard to driving, mobility and living environments.

Biography

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Siobhan Manners completed her Doctor of Medicine in 2020 and a previous honors degree in Health Science in 2014. She has six years of experience in Data Linkage as a Senior Data Linkage Officer and Project Officer at the WA Data Linkage Branch. Siobhan has been working in road safety and vision science research for eight years having held roles as a research associate at UWA, Curtin University and the Lions Eye Institute. She will be commencing her PhD in 2021.