Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose:To describe the 3-year incidence, mechanism of injury, and seasonal variation of ocular trauma presenting to a major urban pediatric emergency center. Methods:A retrospective analysis of all emergency room and inpatient ophthalmology consultations to the Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children's Hospital from 1998-2000 was performed. Only consultations for patients 18 years of age and younger were included in the study. The primary and secondary diagnoses, mechanism of injury, and season of occurrence were documented for injuries incurred from trauma. Results:Of the 2079 consultations reviewed, 263(12.7%) involved pediatric trauma. Sixty-five percent of the patients were male. The most common presenting diagnoses were: orbital fracture(20.2%), periorbital ecchymosis or edema(16.3%), hyphema(11.4%), corneal epithelial defect(10.6%), and lid laceration(9.5%). Sixteen percent of patients had no ocular or periorbital pathology. The vast majority of ocular injury resulted from blunt trauma. Specific mechanisms of injury included: motor vehicle accidents(24%), falls(7.6%), assault(6.8%), and burns(5.7%). Ocular trauma was most frequent in the summer months. Conclusion: Pediatric ocular trauma is a common cause of ophthalmologic consultation. These injuries are mainly a consequence of blunt trauma and are more common in the summer months.
Keywords: 608 trauma • 354 clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence