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The UK Paediatric Ocular Trauma Study 1 (POTS1): development of a global standardized protocol for prospective data
Freda Sii1, Robert J Barry2, Richard J Blanch2
1Department of Ophthalmology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham; Birmingham Institute for Glaucoma Research, Institute of Translational Medicine, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.
Insights
New questionnaires standardize pediatric ocular trauma data collection worldwide. This enables better understanding of injury patterns and development of global prevention strategies for childhood eye injuries.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatric Ophthalmology
- Public Health
Background:
- Pediatric ocular trauma is a significant cause of visual impairment globally, accounting for a substantial portion of eye trauma admissions.
- The majority of these injuries are preventable, highlighting the need for effective prevention strategies.
- Current limitations in standardized data collection hinder epidemiological analysis and international comparisons of pediatric eye injuries.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce two novel questionnaires for standardized data collection in pediatric ocular trauma.
- To facilitate international adoption across diverse healthcare settings.
- To enable comprehensive epidemiological and health-economic analyses of childhood eye injuries.
Main Methods:
- Development of two questionnaires based on existing templates.
- The first questionnaire collects demographic and incident data for hospitalized pediatric ocular trauma.
- The second questionnaire focuses on follow-up outcome data collection, utilizing primarily categorical data for ease of completion and quantitative analysis.
Main Results:
- The questionnaires provide a standardized method for acquiring data on the incidence, etiology, and outcomes of pediatric ocular trauma.
- Designed for global use, they support consistent data collection across various healthcare settings.
- Facilitates quantitative analysis for a clearer understanding of injury characteristics.
Conclusions:
- The developed questionnaires enable standardized global data collection for pediatric ocular trauma.
- Prospective data collection will allow for determination of epidemiological trends and inform collaborative global prevention strategies.
- These tools can be used in future studies to assess the effectiveness of targeted interventions against childhood eye injuries.
Background:
Ocular trauma is an important cause of visual morbidity in children worldwide. Pediatric ocular trauma accounts for up to one third of all ocular trauma admissions, with significant economic implications for health care providers. It is estimated that 90% of all ocular trauma is preventable. Development of strategies to reduce the incidence and severity of pediatric ocular trauma requires an understanding of the epidemiology of these injuries and their characteristics. This will enable appropriate targeting of resources toward prevention and allow effective service planning. At present, there is no standardized methodology for the collection of global cross-sectional data in pediatric ocular trauma, and the ability to undertake detailed epidemiological and health-economic analyses is limited. Furthermore, it is difficult to draw international comparisons in incidence, etiology, and outcomes of pediatric ocular trauma due to the range of published reporting criteria. This study describes two novel questionnaires for standardized data collection in pediatric ocular trauma, which can be adopted across a range of health care settings internationally.
Methods:
Two standardized data collection questionnaires have been developed from previously reported templates. The first enables collection of demographic and incident data on serious pediatric ocular trauma requiring hospitalization, and the second enables follow-up outcome data collection. Both the questionnaires are designed to collect primarily categorical data in order to increase ease of completion and facilitate quantitative analysis. These questionnaires enable acquisition of standardized data on the incidence, etiology, and outcomes of pediatric ocular trauma.
Discussion:
These questionnaires enable collection of standardized data and are designed for global use across all health care settings. Through prospective data collection, epidemiological trends can be determined, allowing health care providers to develop collaborative global preventive strategies. Furthermore, the same questionnaires may be used in future studies to draw comparisons with baseline data, allowing assessment of the efficacy of targeted preventative interventions.
