Abstract
Purpose :
Recent studies suggest a growing interest in alcohol-related ocular trauma. We performed a retrospective data analysis to compare epidemiological trends between non-alcohol and alcohol-related ocular injuries.
Methods :
The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) was accessed for eye injuries reported to the emergency room from 2019 to 2021. Analysis was performed with IBM SPSS 24 and stratified by alcohol-related and non-alcohol-related ocular injuries. The Pearson chi-square test was utilized to examine the significant differences in race, sex, diagnosis, disposition, and location of injury of non-alcohol and alcohol-related ocular injuries. Consumer products involved in each case were recorded.
Results :
469,793 non-alcohol-related cases and 2,684 alcohol-related cases of ocular injuries were included in the analysis. Patients with non-alcohol-related ocular injuries were most frequently White (51.6%) and male (67.8%). The most common diagnosis among non-alcohol-related cases was contusions/abrasions (40.4%) and injuries most commonly occurred at home (52.3%). By comparison, patients with alcohol-related ocular injuries were also most commonly White (57.4%) and male (78.1%). While 41.6% of diagnoses were “unstated” for alcohol-related injuries, contusions/abrasions were the second-most common diagnosis (19.9%). While the non-alcohol-related injuries were most often disposed to be “treated and released” (94.9%), only 62.9% of alcohol-related injuries were disposed to be “treated and released.” 16.7% of alcohol-related cases were hospitalized and transferred and 10.9% were treated and admitted for hospitalization. Overall, there was a significant difference in the distribution of race, sex, diagnosis, disposition, and location of injury (p<0.001) between alcohol and non-alcohol cohorts. The three most common consumer products involved in non-alcohol-related ocular injuries were workshop grinders, buffers, or polishers (6.0%); welding equipment (3.9%); and noncosmetic bleaches (3.0%).
Conclusions :
These findings suggest that differences may exist in epidemiological patterns of non-alcohol and alcohol-related ocular injuries, and alcohol-related ocular trauma may coincide with more serious injuries requiring hospitalization. Future investigations should assess the underlying factors to better understand the epidemiological relationship between alcohol consumption and ocular trauma.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.