Outcomes of bee sting injury: comparison of hornet and paper wasp.

PURPOSE: To compare the outcomes of ocular injuries of hornets and paper wasps' stings.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case series.

METHODS: Patients diagnosed with ocular injuries sustained by bee stings at Miyata Eye Hospital (Miyazaki, Japan) between August 2000 and July 2016 were enrolled. Retrospective data regarding type of bee, visual acuity, and treatment were collected from medical records. Outcomes of the hornet and wasp groups were compared.

RESULTS: Five eyes of 5 patients (3 men, 2 women; mean age 44.6±21.2 years [range 9-62 years]) were enrolled. The mean follow-up period was 50.6 ± 57.6 months (range 4 days to 121 months). The causative bee was hornet in 3 cases and wasp in 2. The anterior chamber was irrigated in 2 patients, both from the hornet group. The best-corrected visual acuity at the final visit was no light perception, light perception, and (0.02) in the hornet group, (1.5) and (1.2) in the wasp group.

CONCLUSIONS: The hornet group exhibited significantly worse prognosis than the wasp group. Identifying the type of bee is important in establishing prognosis.