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Abstract
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IMPORTANCE: Ocular injury is a common, preventable cause of temporary and permanent disability.
BACKGROUND: The current study evaluates the nationwide incidence, demographics and visual outcomes of adults with ocular injury in New Zealand.
DESIGN: Nationwide retrospective review. PARTICIPANTS: New Zealanders aged 18-99 years from 2007-2016 with ocular injury requiring assessment by a registered medical practitioner.
METHODS: New Zealand national and regional datasets were used to evaluate population-level statistics over a ten-year period. Visual and clinical outcome data were assessed using a random sample of 150 patients from a tertiary hospital. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Annual incidence, aetiology, demographics, injury location, visual outcomes, protective eyewear use, surgical intervention, follow-up.
RESULTS: A total of 332 418 adult eye injuries were recorded nationally. The annual incidence of eye injury was 1007/100000 population/year. Patients were predominantly male (76.1%), of NZ-European ethnicity (74.6%) and aged between 20-29 years (21.1%). The most common mechanism of injury was "struck by object" (55.4%). Injuries occurred most commonly at home (48.4%), followed by commercial (15%), and industrial locations (13.8%). Injuries were more common in rural regions (P < 0.001). Protective eyewear use was reported in 6% of cases (n = 9, CI = 3.2-11.0%). Most ocular injuries were managed exclusively in primary care (70.5%).
CONCLUSIONS: Adults with the highest risk of ocular injury are rural males aged 20-29 years. Protective eyewear use is uncommon in adults presenting with ocular injury and the majority of injuries are managed in primary care. Promotion of appropriate injury prevention strategies is an important public health message. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Language: en |