Abstract
Purpose :
Previous research suggests racial minorities may experience disparities in the emergency room (ER) such as longer wait times compared to White Americans. We performed retrospective data analysis to further explore trends by race in epidemiology and disposition of ocular injuries reported to the ER.
Methods :
The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) was queried for eye injuries reported from 2010 to 2020, and weights were assigned in accordance with NEISS guidelines. Analysis was performed with IBM SPSS 24 and stratified by race (White, Black, non-White Hispanic, and Asian). Incidence of ocular injuries reported over time was recorded, alongside codes corresponding to most common diagnoses, consumer products involved, and dispositions. Logistic regression analysis adjusting for variables such as age, gender, and diagnosis was performed for further analysis of racial implications on dispositions.
Results :
Cases of 1,113,325 White, 212,176 Black, 21,942 Asian, and 115,548 non-White Hispanics reporting to the ER with ocular injuries from 2010 to 2020 were included. While incidence of Whites, Asians, and Hispanics reporting to the ER with ocular-related complaints decreased over time, little change was observed in Black populations. Contusions/abrasions were the most common coded ocular diagnosis in all groups (>40%), however in Whites and Hispanics foreign bodies were the second leading cause followed by dermatitis/conjunctivitis, while in Blacks and Asians this was reversed. Sources of ocular injury varied by race, for example workshop buffers were responsible for over 10% of ocular injuries in Whites, twice as much for any other race. Finally, while the majority of both racial groups were treated/examined and released (>94%), a significantly increased probability of leaving the ER without being seen was associated with being a racial minority versus White (p<.001), with the greatest risk in Hispanics (OR 1.962, 95% CI 1.881 to 2.046, p<.001).
Conclusions :
These findings suggest racial variation but also shared trends in epidemiology of ocular injuries. These results also suggest a harmful outcome of racial minorities waiting longer in the ER than Whites may be an increased likelihood of patients leaving without being seen.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.