Causes of pediatric eye injuries. A population-based study.
Eye injuries are an important cause of ocular morbidity in children. We conducted a population-based study of eye injuries requiring hospital admission for children younger than 16 years in the state of Maryland during the 1982 calendar year. The population-based estimate of the incidence of ocular trauma in Maryland children was 15.2 per 100,000 per year (95% confidence interval, 12.8 to 17.7). Male patients outnumbered female patients as victims of eye injuries by a ratio of approximately 4:1; eye injuries in 11- to 15-year-old children occurred at more than twice the rate than for younger children. The most common cause of pediatric ocular trauma was accidental blows and falls (37%). Sports and recreational activities accounted for 27% of all eye injuries, 39% of all nonpenetrating injuries, and 40% of all injuries in 11- to 15-year-old children. A comparison of the causes of eye injuries at statewide specialty trauma centers and community-based hospitals indicated that sports-related injuries were treated at general hospitals more than 10 times more frequently than at the trauma centers. Other important causes of eye injuries were burns (9%), car crashes (11%), and nonpowder firearm accidents (4%). We conclude that the majority of pediatric eye injuries are preventable, and that the implementation of well-established safety precautions would greatly reduce this source of visual disability in our nation's children.
Strahlman
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E
Dana Center for Preventive Ophthalmology, Wilmer Institute, Baltimore, Md.
Elman
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M
Daub
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E
Baker
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S
D000058:Accidental Falls; D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000293:Adolescent; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D002056:Burns / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005131:Eye Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008396:Maryland / Q000453:epidemiology; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000453:epidemiology