Acil Oftalmolojik Konsültasyonların Aciliyet, Oftalmik Patoloji ve Hafta Sonu Etkisi Açısından İrdelenmesi

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the urgency of ophthalmology consultations in the emergency department (ED) and the presence of ophthalmic pathology. This study also aimed to determine whether the weekend phenomenon affected emergency ophthalmologic consultation requests. Materials and Methods: Ophthalmology consultations requested by the emergency physician for patients who visited the academic ED of a tertiary care hospital in Turkey from January to December 2019 were retrospectively investigated. Consultation requests were grouped as possible emergent, unlikely to be emergent, and undetermined. Results: A total of 256 eligible patients were included in the study. The top three reasons for emergency ophthalmologic consultations were blunt trauma (29.7%), foreign body (24.2%), and conjunctivitis (13.3%). 70.3% of the patients were categorized as a possible emergent, 18.4% as unlikely to be emergent, and 11.3% undetermined. The frequency of consultation requests with diagnoses that are unlikely to be emergent at weekends and out of working hours was lower than during weekdays and working hours (p = 0.032, p = 0.029, respectively). Most of the possible emergent consultations had ophthalmic pathology (p = 0.001). Conclusion: Traumatic injuries are the most common cause of ophthalmology consultation in the ED. Approximately one-fifth of patients are unlikely to be emergent. Early ophthalmology evaluation is required in possible emergent category patients. The weekend effect does not influence ophthalmology consultations. Establishing eye emergency services or having an available ophthalmologist is crucial in the emergency diagnosis and treatment of patients who require special practice skills.