Abstract
Purpose :
The objective of this project was to describe the demographics and characteristics of ocular injuries among infants ages 0 to 12 months using data documented by the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) database from 2009 to 2019.
Methods :
The NEISS Database was used to identify cases of ocular injury among the infant population (0-12 months) between 2009 to 2019. The NEISS Database is a collection of data regarding consumer product-related injuries in the United States derived from a representative probability sample of hospital emergency departments (ED) in the U.S. and its territories. The patient population was divided into three age subgroups (1-4 months, 5-8 months, 9-12 months), and statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS 23.
Results :
In total, 21,013 cases of ocular injury in the infant population (0-12 months) were identified. Among infant ocular injuries, males (55%), the 9-12 months age group (54.9%), and Whites (45.3%) accounted for the plurality of cases by gender, age group, and race, respectively. Temporally, the plurality of injuries occurred on Sunday (17.4%) and in July (11.0%) with regard to day of the week and month of the year for all cases of ocular injury. The most common diagnosis in cases of infant ocular injury over the study time period was contusion, accounting for 45.8% of cases, which was nearly three times more common than the second most common diagnosis of dermatitis/conjunctivitis (16.6%). The vast majority of infant ocular injuries occurred at home (71.0%), and the three most commonly involved consumer products among the cases of ocular injury were detergents and chemicals (26.1%), toys (12.9%), and home furniture (10.9%). When stratifying ocular injuries by age, toys (12.9%) were the most commonly involved consumer product in the 1-4 months age group, while detergents and chemicals were the most commonly involved product in the 5-8 months and 9-12 months age groups. By gender, detergents and chemicals were the most common consumer product involved in ocular injury in both boys (23.6%) and girls (29.2%).
Conclusions :
In the infant population studied (ages 0-12 months) in the ED, between 2009-2019, ocular injuries occurred most commonly in males, in the oldest age subgroup of 9-12 months, in Whites, and in July. The most common diagnosis for ocular injury was contusion, and the most commonly associated consumer product was detergents and chemicals.
This is a 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.