PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Arpan Singh Tahim AU - Catherine Bryant AU - Lisa Greaney AU - Arif Rashid AU - Kathleen Fan TI - Improving documentation of visual acuity in patients suffering facial fractures AID - 10.1136/emermed-2012-201301 DP - 2013 Nov 01 TA - Emergency Medicine Journal PG - 949--950 VI - 30 IP - 11 4099 - http://emj.bmj.com/content/30/11/949.short 4100 - http://emj.bmj.com/content/30/11/949.full SO - Emerg Med J2013 Nov 01; 30 AB - Failure to identify eye injuries associated with facial fractures can lead to life-altering morbidity. Oral and maxillofacial surgery teams receiving referrals of patients with these injuries have a vital role in ensuring that visual acuity (VA) is recorded at the time of presentation. We present a clinical audit of documentation of VA in 126 patients who sustained orbital floor and zygoma fractures. Our intervention involved a focussed teaching session for trainees responsible for taking such referrals. VA was appropriately documented in 16.5% before the session and 57.1% afterwards. This study shows that education of junior trainees gives rise to an increase in the proportion of patients where VA is properly documented. We suggest this teaching should occur routinely at junior doctor departmental inductions.