Demographic trends of open globe injuries in a large inpatient sample

To evaluate demographic trends of open globe injuries (OGIs) using a large dataset representative of United States population.

Retrospective cross-sectional observational study using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database from 2002 to 2013. Only patients with a primary admitting diagnosis of OGI were included. Data included age (in years), gender, race, type of OGI, death rate and length and cost of stay.

During the 12-year period, 27,467 adults (age > 20) with acute OGIs were admitted to the US hospitals. The incidence of OGIs in the adult US population was 10.6 cases per 1,000,000 persons. The mean age was 50.4 years (SD 21.52); the average ages of men and women were 44.34 (SD 17.63) and 65.69 (SD 22.77), respectively. Men accounted for 71% of all cases, with 84% of patients under 60. A decrease in the number of OGIs was seen with advancing age in men, whereas the opposite was true for women. Men, elderly over 80 and Blacks were at the highest risk of sustaining an OGI. The most and least common types of injuries were penetrating injuries (73%) and IOFBs (11%), respectively. Over half of young adults in the 21-40 cohort and 43% of men were uninsured (p < 0.001). The average length of hospital stay increased with age and was significantly much higher in women than men (3.4 vs 2.5 days).

Racial, gender and age disparities are prevalent in patients with OGIs. Although the majority of cases were seen in Whites and young men age 21-40 years, the incidence of OGIs per 1,000,000 persons per year was the highest in Blacks and Hispanics, elderly over 80, and men. One-third of all cases were uninsured. These disparities should be the basis of future public health safety measures.