Seasonal distribution of ocular conditions treated at the emergency room: A 1-year prospective study
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Date
2018
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Abstract
Purpose: To determine the clinical characteristics and seasonal distribution of patients admitted to the ocular emergency department of a tertiary ophthalmology care center. Methods: The study cohort includes 27,120 patients who were admitted to ocular emergency room between November 2013 and November 2014. The age, sex, reason for admission, diagnosis, and complete ocular examination reports were recorded for each patient. X-ray and ultrasonographic examinations were performed if necessary. Results: The mean patient age was 32.83 ± 17.62 years (range, 0-95). The number of males was nearly two times the number of females, with 18,808 (69.4%) males and 8312 (30.6%) females. The diagnoses included viral conjunctivitis (7,859 patients; 29.0%), corneal foreign body (5,286 patients; 19.5%), bacterial conjunctivitis (3,892 patients; 14.4%), corneal abrasions (2,306 patients; 8.5%), and allergic conjunctivitis (1,433 patients; 5.3%) (Table 1). Other frequent diagnoses included subconjunctival hemorrhage, photo keratopathy, chemical eye injury, and penetrating and blunt eye injuries. Allergic conjunctivitis, ocular trauma, and corneal foreign body were more frequent in spring, whereas keratitis and chemical eye injury were more common in winter (chi-square test). The most common reasons for emergency room admission, in order of frequency, were viral conjunctivitis, corneal foreign body, bacterial conjunctivitis, and corneal abrasions. Conclusion: This study is the first long-term prospective study to evaluate the seasonal distribution and diagnosis of all adult and pediatric patients admitted to the emergency room for ocular conditions. The frequency of ophthalmological conditions seen in the emergency room may vary according to the season. © 2018, Conselho Brasileiro De Oftalmologia.
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Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Child , Child, Preschool , Conjunctivitis , Corneal Diseases , Emergency Service, Hospital , Eye Foreign Bodies , Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Middle Aged , Patient Admission , Prospective Studies , Seasons , Sex Distribution , Time Factors , Turkey , Young Adult , adolescent , adult , aged , child , conjunctivitis , cornea disease , female , hospital admission , hospital emergency service , human , infant , intraocular foreign body , male , middle aged , preschool child , prospective study , season , sex ratio , statistics and numerical data , time factor , turkey (bird) , very elderly , young adult