Abstract
Purpose :
This study investigated the epidemiology of MVA-related eye injuries presenting to United States (US) emergency departments (EDs) from 2000 through 2020.
Methods :
The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, All Injury Program (NEISS-AIP) database gathers information on ED visits for individual consumer product-related nonfatal injuries from 100 participating US EDs. The NEISS-AIP uses cases from these 100 EDs to extrapolate a national estimate for over 5,000 US EDs. We queried the NEISS-AIP for MVA-related eye injuries for all age groups from 2000-2020. We collected data on diagnosis, mechanism of injury, motor vehicle type, occupant status (driver vs. passenger vs. other specified vs. unknown) and demographic trends. Rates per 10,000 people and rates per 10,000 licensed drivers were calculated for each year using the annual NEISS-AIP national estimates and data from the US Census and US Department of Transportation.
Results :
In 2000-2020, an estimated 224,231 (95% confidence interval [CI] 215,247–233,217) MVA-associated eye injuries presented to US EDs (Table1). The rate of ED-treated eye injuries from MVAs declined during this study period (9623 cases; 0.34/10,000 people to 9007 cases; 0.27/10,000 people) (Figure 1). Males accounted for 62.8% of eye injuries; 48.7% of patients were White. The highest rates of ED visits were in age groups 20–24 years (13.1%; 13.5/10,000 people) and 15-19 years (12.7%; 12.6/10,000 people). Among US drivers, 16–24-year-olds (24.4%; 21.4/10,000 drivers) had the highest rate of ED visits. Most commonly, patients were drivers (36.4%). The leading ocular diagnoses were contusions/abrasions (59.3%) and foreign body (18.7%). Most patients were treated and discharged (93.9%).
Conclusions :
From 2000-2020, the rates of MVA-related eye injuries decreased. The risk of injury was greatest among males and drivers aged 16-24. Most injuries were not serious, allowing 93.9% of patients to be treated and discharged from the ED. Causes of MVA-related eye injury, such as airbag deployment, should be further investigated to identify appropriate preventative measures.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.