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Ophthalmic Images
September 12, 2019

Explosive Ocular Trauma Caused by Celebratory Fireworks

Author Affiliations
  • 1State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
JAMA Ophthalmol. 2019;137(9):e185824. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2018.5824

The tradition of Chinese people using fireworks to celebrate can sometimes cause tragedy. The eyes are vulnerable to fireworks. During the 2018 Chinese New Year’s Eve and festival, which spanned 7 days, 11 patients with explosive ocular trauma by fireworks were admitted to our emergency department, which serves a population of approximately 10.4 million.1 The mean (SD) age was 21.8 (13.0) years, and 1 patient was female. Most patients presented with severe vision loss.

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