Study objective: To describe patient and wound characteristics that are clinically useful in identifying wounds that were caused by glass and retained a foreign body.
Design: Retrospective consecutive case review.
Setting: Urban, university-affiliated teaching hospital.
Type of participants: Four hundred thirty consecutive patients with a total of 578 evaluable wounds caused by glass during a 12-month period.
Measurements and results: Medical records were reviewed to determine patient demographics, primary wound data (eg, location, type, description), mechanism of injury, type of glass involved, and presence of foreign body sensation. Glass was found by examination in 7% of wounds. Eight percent of 137 radiographs were positive. Wounds with the highest prevalence of retained glass were puncture wounds (P < .0005), those caused by stepping on glass or by a motor vehicle accident (P < .005), and those of the head or foot (P < .003).
Conclusion: Characteristics of wounds most likely to retain glass were identified in this retrospective study. The presence of these factors should increase the clinician's suspicion of a retained glass foreign body. The indications for radiography for the detection of retained glass in wounds should be clarified with prospective studies.