A convenience sample of 164 adult patients with 185 glass-caused wounds who presented to an emergency department and contented to a radiograph was prospectively studied. The purpose was to determine the characteristics of wounds at high risk for foreign body (FB) and the predictive value of patient FB sensation and probing wound exploration for FB retention. Radiographs can help confirm the presence or absence of glass when wound exploration is difficult. Pieces of glass >2mm in size can be detected on radiographs nearly 100% of the time. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether there are characteristics useful in identifying high risk for FB retention in glass-caused wounds. The predictive value of a patient's FB sensation and of a negative probing wound exploration for glass FB were also determined.
