Bergman Zachary M, Munir Saleha Z, Munir Wuqaas M
University of Maryland School of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2024 Feb;31(1):31-36. doi: 10.1080/09286586.2023.2193627. Epub 2023 Mar 21.
To determine if weather patterns are associated with the frequency of ophthalmology consultations in the Emergency Room (ER) and trauma settings.
Hospital-based ophthalmology consultations between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2020 at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) were included in the BALCITE (BALtimore Consultation, Inpatient, and Trauma of the Eye) database. Encounters were filtered to the general ER, the R. Crowley Adams Shock Trauma Center, and consultations within 24 h of admission where a delay was attributed to bed assignment. Weather data from the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) for Baltimore, Maryland, was matched to the day of the initial encounter.
A total of 3,877 patients were included. Overall, there was a significant association between increasing daily average temperature ( = .152, = 0.0003) and daily maximum temperature ( = .243, < 0.001) with incidence of ophthalmology consultations. There was no significant decrease in consultations with increasing precipitation ( = -.007, = 0.7477). For trauma-related consultations, there was not a significant association between consultation incidence and average daily temperature ( = .011, = 0.2013), maximum daily temperature ( = -0.012, = 0.6529), or precipitation levels ( = .075, = 0.24). The months with the highest consultation volume were September, August, and July, and the lowest numbers in April, March, and February.
Emergency ophthalmology consultations increased with increasing daily temperature. Trauma-specific consultations did not show a significant association with weather patterns. This information may prove useful to ER providers and ophthalmologists in order to help predict frequency of consultations and better deploy personnel and resources.
确定天气模式是否与急诊室（ER）和创伤环境中眼科会诊的频率相关。
2015年1月1日至2020年12月31日在马里兰大学医学中心（UMMC）进行的基于医院的眼科会诊被纳入BALCITE（巴尔的摩眼科会诊、住院和创伤）数据库。会诊被筛选至普通急诊室、R. 克劳利·亚当斯休克创伤中心，以及入院后24小时内的会诊，其中延迟归因于床位分配。来自马里兰州巴尔的摩国家气候数据中心（NCDC）的天气数据与初次会诊日期相匹配。
共纳入3877例患者。总体而言，日平均气温升高（ = 0.152， = 0.0003）和日最高气温升高（ = 0.243， < 0.001）与眼科会诊发生率之间存在显著关联。随着降水量增加，会诊次数没有显著减少（ = -0.007， = 0.7477）。对于创伤相关会诊，会诊发生率与日平均气温（ = 0.011， = 0.2013）、日最高气温（ = -0.012， = 0.6529）或降水量水平（ = 0.075， = 0.24）之间没有显著关联。会诊量最高的月份是9月、8月和7月，最低的是4月、3月和2月。
急诊眼科会诊次数随日气温升高而增加。特定创伤会诊与天气模式没有显著关联。这些信息可能对急诊提供者和眼科医生有用，有助于预测会诊频率并更好地调配人员和资源。
