Abstract
The aim of this retrospective study was to describe and compare the characteristic features of serious eye injuries in children sustaining non-accidental (NAI) versus accidental eye (AEI) injuries. The medical records of children (≤; 17 years old) who attended Princess Margaret Hospital for Children in Western Australia with a serious eye injury between 2002 and 2015 were reviewed. There were 747 cases of serious eye injuries admitted to hospital over the study period, of which NAI comprised 5.2% (39/747). Both groups had more males (AEI 68.2%; NAI 57.8%, Chi-squared P=0.125). Children with NAI were younger than those with AEI (5.8 months vs 7 years) and accounted for 66.6% (26/39) of eye injuries in children younger than 6 months. Children with AEI presented throughout the week and more commonly (239/704; 33.9%) over weekends compared to children with NAI. The most common ocular signs were intra-retinal haemorrhages (33/38; 86.8%) while haemorrhagic retinoschisis was observed in 13.1% (5/38). AEI in children most commonly presented as a closed globe injury (306/694; 44%) and retinal haemorrhages were rare (9/704; 1.2%). These findings confirm the importance of incongruent history, age, gender and retinal haemorrhages in differentiating NAI from AEI. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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