Motor vehicle airbags and related ocular injury

Abstract

The aim of this study is to document current literature regarding those ocular injuries sustained due to airbag deployment during a motor vehicle accident. Airbags have been proven to reduce morbidity and mortality but eye health care professionals and the larger community have to be aware of those injuries which may occur during airbag deployment. A literature review was undertaken and from this review approximately eighteen different eye injuries have been documented. While nearly all of the eye injuries sustained due to airbag deployment had good prognoses some did not. The airbag has undergone changes in order to reduce injury but it will work properly and pose little threat to the occupant of a motor vehicle if it is used in conjunction with the wearing of seat belts for optimal petfonnance, hence the term supplementary restraining system. Studies undertaken in Australia in 1988 showed that 83% of drivers injured in motor vehicle accidents were wearing seat belts therefore the airbag has more potential in lowering this statistic. So that by the use of seat belts and airbags in conjunction injuries to areas such as the face and head including eyes can be considerably reduced. It is apparent that injuries sustained to the head and face area are greater in accidents where a vehicle is not equipped with an airbag. Thus with an airbag the severity of such injuries should decrease. Technology has gone on thus far to redesign the airbag to reduce potential injury to the benefactor (1) and even gone on to create airbags that deploy during side impact to protect occupants from injury (2) and in the not too distant future airbags for rear seat passengers may also become a reality (3). As the cost of supplying airbags goes down they are thought to be most cost effective in tenus of the morbidity and mortality reduction and thus bring overall benefit to the community because of this fact. Literature has proven with data and fact that airbags do indeed save lives and reduce injury to those occupants in airbag equipped motor vehicles (4).