Ocular and Psychosocial Outcomes After Pediatric Open Globe Injury Repair

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical and demographic characteristics of children undergoing surgical repair for open globe injuries(OGIs) and to examine the associations between ocular findings, executive functioning, sleep disturbances, and parental quality of life. Methods: Twenty-three children who underwent OGI repair and 25 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were included. Clinical data, including baseline and final best-corrected visual acuity(BCVA), number of surgeries, and injury zone, were collected retrospectively. Parents completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory: Family Impact Module (PedsQL-FIM), the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children(SDSC), and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function(BRIEF) at the final follow-up visit after trauma Group comparisons and correlation analyses were performed to assess relationships between ocular and psychosocial variables. Results: The median follow-up was 21 months. Among patients, 73.9% had penetrating injuries, 17.4% ruptures, and 8.7% intraocular foreign bodies. Injury location was zone 1 in 69.6%, zone 2 in 21.7%, and zone 3 in 8.7%. Median BCVA improved from 1.8 to 0.4 LogMAR(p=0.006). No significant group differences were found in executive or sleep functions(p>0.05). Parents of patients reported significantly lower scores in physical(p=0.001), emotional(p=0.002), anxiety(p=0.020), and daily activity(p=0.028) domains. Baseline BCVA correlated negatively with Shift(r=–0.415, p=0.049) and Emotional Control(r=–0.452, p=0.030). Final BCVA correlated negatively with parental cognitive functioning(r=–0.443, p=0.034) and children’s night awakenings(r=–0.415, p=0.049). Conclusion: Early intervention in OGIs is crucial for favorable visual outcomes. Although executive and sleep functions were similar to controls, poorer vision was linked to emotional and cognitive difficulties in children and heightened caregiver stress, highlighting the need for multidisciplinary, family-centered care.