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A Comprehensive Study of Eye Injuries in the United States

In a recent review of studies reporting the incidence and types of eye injuries, researchers Gerald McGwin Jr., Ph.D., M.S. department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and colleagues noted a wide range of estimates and suggested that they might be attributed to differences in study populations and definitions of eye injury.

	ILLUSTRATION BY ALAN KING

The researchers found that previous studies limited to inpatient populations yielded low rates of injury, as eye injuries are rarely serious enough by themselves to require hospital admission. Serious eye injuries are more likely to result in visual impairment, and thus a focus on these types of injuries is important. However, to understand the true magnitude of eye injuries, other settings must be considered.

Several studies have included both inpatient and outpatient (including emergency department) or outpatient-only data to provide a more comprehensive picture of eye injuries. However, even these studies are not a comprehensive estimate of treated eye injuries, as they exclude injuries treated in private physicians' offices. This is the first study to estimate the rate of treated eye injury in the United States that includes data from inpatient and outpatient facilities, as well as from private physicians' offices.

Following are the researchers' findings:

In the United States in 2001, an estimated 1,990,872 (6.98 per 1,000 population) individuals experienced an eye injury requiring treatment in an emergency department, inpatient or outpatient facility or private physician's office.

► Patients were treated in:
• Emergency departments (50.7%)
• Private offices (38.7%)
• Outpatient facilities (8.1%)
• Inpatient facilities (2.5%)

► The highest eye injury rates were individuals in their 20s, males and whites

► The most common injuries were for superficial injuries, foreign bodies, contusions and open wounds

► Overall, males (9.5 per 1,000) had more than twice the rate of eye injury as females (4.5 per 1,000).

► With respect to race, eye injury rates were calculated only for whites and blacks. The rate of eye injury among whites and blacks was 7.6 and 5.2 per 1,000, respectively.

► Overall, injury rates were highest for foreign bodies, followed by being struck against or by an object; rates for fights and assaults and for falls were also elevated.

► For females and males, foreign bodies and being struck against or by an object had the highest injury rates.

► Rates for the fight- or assault-related eye injuries were also elevated between both sexes.

► The rate for fall-related eye injury was higher among females, whereas rates related to machinery and cutting or piercing objects were higher among males.

► Injury rates for fights or assaults were higher among those 0 to 29 years of age relative to other age groups.

► The rate for foreign bodies was higher among whites than blacks.

The researchers concluded that private physicians represent a more important source of care for eye injury in the United States than previously thought. 

About this data: Data for this study was collected from: The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS), a national survey of visits to office-based physicians conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The NAMCS provided 24,281 patient records. The National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS), a national survey of visits to hospital outpatient and emergency departments located in the US, also conducted by the NCHS. The NHAMCS provided 34,546 emergency department records and 33,567 outpatient department records. The National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS), a national survey of discharges from noninstitutional hospitals located in the United States. The NHDS provided 330,210 patient records. The combined NAMCS, NHAMCS and NHDS data yielded a total of 422,604 actual patient visits for 2001.