Epidemiology of Eye Injuries Resulting in Hospitalization, a Referral Hospital-Based Study

To determine the characteristics of hospitalized eye injuries in Northern Thailand, a tertiary referral center.

The medical records of patients who sustained an eye injury and were admitted to the Department of Ophthalmology, Chiang Mai University, Thailand, from February 2015 to February 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. Demographics and characteristics of each injury were collected.

A total of 249 injured patients were included, of which 227 (91.2%) were male. There was no significant difference in the mean (standard deviation) age between genders, 39.8 (22.9) years of age for females and 43.8 (17.8) for males (P = 0.43). Most injuries occurred in the workplace (149/249, 59.8%). Nearly similar proportions of the opened globe and closed globe injuries were observed, 121/249 (48.6%) patients and 109/249 (43.8%) patients. A small proportion sustained eyelid/adnexal and chemical injury, 19/249 (7.6%) patients. Corneal penetration (52/249, 20.9%) and intraocular foreign body (37/249 14.9%) were the most prevalent conditions for opened globe injury. Traumatic lens subluxation/dislocation (31/249, 12.4%) and a traumatic corneal ulcer (25/249, 10.1%) were the common conditions for closed globe injury. A delayed presentation to the hospital was noted in closed globe injury. The eyelid/adnexal injury group had a better final visual acuity compared to the opened and closed globe injury group.

Activities related to hospitalized eye injuries were varied in different age groups, specifically adults at workplace, and children at playground; therefore different strategies should be applied to prevent visual impairments and disabilities in specific high-risk groups.