Purpose:
To establish a recording mechanism for serious eye injuries at Canadian eye centers. The data was recorded in a standardized format in line with other international registries to compare prevalence and mechanisms of injuries across industrialized nations. The data will also likely be used to develop targeted preventative health programs for Canadian eye injuries.
Methods:
An ongoing prospective database of all serious eye injuries presenting to Canadian eye centers was designed. The pilot center was the Ivey Eye Institute, a tertiary referral center in London, Canada. Inclusion criteria included all injuries with the potential to significantly affect the structure or function of the eye in the long-term, which in addition to the reporting forms, was based on the United States Eye Injury Registry (USEIR) criteria. All reporting physicians were staff or resident ophthalmologists.Data for each injury was recorded on a standardized form and then backed up on a secure server database. Six-month follow up forms were developed to assess injury outcomes after the initial trauma.The information recorded included patient demographics, place of injury, source of injury, associated factors, ocular tissues involved, presenting visual acuities, and initial diagnoses and operative interventions.
Results:
Recording of serious eye injuries has been ongoing since March 2011. A total of 54 injuries matching the inclusion criteria have been recorded. The majority occurred in males (81.5 %) and were not work-related (87.0%).The most common places of injury were home (35.2%), recreational facility or sports field (25.9%), and street or highway (14.8%). Only two injuries (3.7%) occurred on an industrial site. The common sources of injury were blunt objects (44.4%), sharp objects (33.3%), and BB or pellet gun (9.3%).The most common initial diagnoses were hyphema (51.9%), commotio retinae (42.6%), and uveitis (25.9%). Seven eyes (13.0%) sustained an open globe injury. Most of the injuries (75.9%) did not require surgical intervention.
Conclusions:
Obtaining data on all types of eye injuries in a format which is directly comparable to the format used in the US and other countries will allow Canada to compare our statistics to other industrialized nations and better develop and implement prevention programs. The initial data shows trends toward less severe Canadian injuries in comparison to previous US data. Expansion beyond the pilot site is planned in the near future.
Keywords: trauma • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: risk factor assessment