Abstract
BackgroundThe aim of this study was to review the demographic and characteristic distribution data of serious rural pediatric eye injuries in Wenzhou and Changsha, located in Zhejiang Province in East China and Hunan Province in Central China.MethodsThis retrospective study included hospitalized pediatric patients aged < 18 years with eye injuries at the Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University and Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from January 2008 to December 2017. Demographic data, injury types, injury causes, and initial and final visual acuity (VA) were recorded and analyzed. The ocular trauma score (OTS) was calculated to assess the severity of injury and evaluate the prognosis. All patient data were obtained from the medical record systems.ResultsIn total, 1125 children were hospitalized during the 10-year period; 830 (73.8%) were males and 295 (26.2%) were females. The majority of the patients were aged 3 to 8 years (57.4%, n = 646). Among mechanical injuries (n = 1007), penetrating injury was the most common (68.4%, n = 689), followed by contusion (17.2%, n = 173) and rupture (8.1%, n = 82). Overall, the top three injury causes were sharp objects (n = 544, 48.4%), blunt objects (n = 209, 18.6%) and fireworks (n = 121, 10.8%). In Wenzhou, eye injuries occurred mostly in summer (n = 136, 29.1%), and sharp object-related eye injuries accounted for the highest proportion (n = 98, 72.1%). In Changsha, eye injuries occurred mostly in winter (n = 272, 41.3%), and firecracker- and fireworks-associated eye injury accounted for the highest proportion (n = 73, 26.8%). The final VA was positively correlated with the initial VA (r = 0.641, P < 0.001) and the OTS (r = 0.582, P < 0.001).ConclusionThe age range of the susceptible pediatric population from rural areas was 3–8 years. Most eye injuries were penetrating, and the main cause of injury was a sharp object. Notably, the differences in the characteristics of eye injuries in the two areas were related to regional features.
Highlights
The aim of this study was to review the demographic and characteristic distribution data of serious rural pediatric eye injuries in Wenzhou and Changsha, located in Zhejiang Province in East China and Hunan Province in Central China
We found that 69.6% of the children required hospitalization for Open-globe injuries (OGI), similar to results reported by others in China [7, 12] and India [2, 13]
Of the 739 children with mechanical injuries, we found that 73.9% of the children with OGI had a visual acuity (VA) < 6/60 at
Summary
The aim of this study was to review the demographic and characteristic distribution data of serious rural pediatric eye injuries in Wenzhou and Changsha, located in Zhejiang Province in East China and Hunan Province in Central China. Pediatric eye injuries account for the majority of uniocular visual disability and noncongenital unilateral blindness worldwide, especially in developing countries [1]. An estimated 3.3 to 5.7 million pediatric eye injuries occur worldwide, with a high incidence in rural children, of which 49% are serious enough to require inpatient hospitalization [2]. The number of left-behind children in rural areas has increased markedly. Economic disadvantages and irresponsible child supervision all contributed to the alarmingly high incidence rate of eye injuries among rural children, with percentages as high as 46.7– 48.1% [4, 5]. Visual outcomes for pediatric eye injuries have profound implications and significance, and treatment in children is more likely to be unsuccessful than treatment in adults [6]
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