Age and consumer product-related eye injuries in the United States.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to describe the epidemiology of consumer product (CP) related eye injuries presenting to US emergency departments (EDs) stratified by age.

METHODS

The Consumer Product Safety Commission's National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (CPSC-NEISS) database was used to derive national, weighted estimates of nonfatal Emergency Department visits for eye injuries by patients' age, gender, diagnosis, injured body part, locale of incidence, and related CP.

RESULTS

The CPs causing the highest proportion of injury visits varied among the different age groups: chemicals in the very young (0-4 yr), household items in 5-9 year olds, sports products in 10-24 year olds, cutting and construction tools in 25-64 year olds, and chemicals in the elderly (65+). Patients aged 0-4 also represented the age interval with the highest rate of injury visits (92 visits per 10,000).

CONCLUSION

This study identified the CPs responsible for the most eye injury visits by age groups. Further research is needed on how to effectively change the behavior of individuals and their environment so that we can minimize preventable eye injuries from consumer products.