title: Epidemiology of infant ocular and periocular injuries from consumer products in the United States, 2001-2008.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To quantify and characterize eye injuries related to consumer products in the infant population (0-12 months) treated in United States hospital emergency departments during the period from 2001 to 2008.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study is a descriptive analysis of consumer-product related eye injury data derived from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, a probability sample of 100 hospitals nationwide with 24-hour emergency departments. Narrative data were used to assign each case with the consumer products (CPs) causing the eye injury. The proportions of eye injury visits were calculated by age, sex, diagnosis, disposition, locale of incident, and CP categories. We examined the US Consumer Product Safety Commission National Electronic Injury Surveillance System data for all nonfatal eye injuries (853 cases) in the infant population (0-12 months) treated in US emergency departments from 2001 to 2008. These data can be used to project national, annual, weighted estimates of nonfatal injury treated in US emergency departments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were an estimated 21,271 visits to US emergency departments by patients aged 0-12 months for CP-related eye injuries during the study period. Of these, 63% involved infants aged 9-12 months and 54% involved male patients; 78% of all injuries occurred at home. The CPs causing the most eye injuries belonged to the categories of chemical (46%) and household items (24%). Contusions and abrasions were the leading eye injuries diagnoses (37%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that most CP-related infant eye injuries in the United States occur at home and are predominantly caused by chemicals and household products.
authors.affiliation: Division of Ophthalmology, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island 02903, USA.
authors.forename: Allison J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: James G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Linakis
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Mello
authors.forename: Paul B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Greenberg
mesh_terms: D000056:Accident Prevention; D017677:Age Distribution; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D005131:Eye Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006794:Household Articles; D006795:Household Products / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology