[Epidemiologic study of ocular emergencies in a general hospital].
OBJECTIVE
To provide epidemiological data about patients attending an ophthalmic emergencies center of a general hospital.


METHODS
A retrospective analysis of all patients attending the emergency department (ED) of Rio Hortega Hospital during a 9-month period was carried out. Pathology was identified by International Classification of Diseases ((ICD9-CM) codes.


RESULTS
A total of 2914 visits have been examined: 6% of patients were under 20 years of age, 35.4% between 21-50, 29% between 51-70, and 23.3% over 71 years. Thirteen per cent of visits were due to injuries, 50.7% of which occurred in patients 21 to 50 years old. Almost half of visits were due to inflammatory conditions of the cornea, conjunctiva and eyelids.


CONCLUSIONS
ED plays a major role in the ophthalmology departments in a hospital. Certainly a considerable proportion of these patients had conditions which could have been dealt with in an ophthalmic outpatient clinic or by general practitioners. Ocular trauma is a common cause of visits to the ED.
Sánchez Tocino
H
H
Departamento de Oftalmología, Hospital Río Hortega de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain. tensi_sanchez@yahoo.es
Galindo Ferreiro
A
A
Iglesias Cortiñas
D
D
Galindo Alonso
J
J
Fernández Muñoz
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004630:Emergencies; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006769:Hospitals, General / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies
Estudio epidemiológico de las urgencias oftalmológicas en un hospital general.