Non-accidental and accidental eye injuries in children in Western Australia.

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.