Eye injuries in an Italian urban population: report of 10620 cases admitted to an eye emergency department in Torino

BACKGROUND: Ocular trauma has significant impact on the patient's future quality of life. Most of the hospital-based studies tend to underestimate the occurrence of minor ocular trauma. In Torino the large majority of patients with ocular trauma are referred to a single hospital with a 24-hour Emergency Department (Ospedale Oftalmico). This offers the unique opportunity to analyze minor and major traumatic injuries in an industrial Italian city. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of all patients referred to the Eye Emergency Department, during a 1-year period (January 1 2006 to December 31 2006), was carried out. Records included demographic data, details of the eye injury, and diagnosis according to the classification of ocular trauma. The 1-year incidence of eye trauma was calculated on the Torino population obtained from the Central Anagraphic Office. RESULTS: A total of 73,933 patients examined by the ophthalmologists working at the Ophthalmic Emergency Department 10,620 had eye injuries related to trauma (1.26%). The overall one year incidence of ocular trauma was 1.13%, and most of the casualties occurred in the 24-45 years age range. 111 patients were hospitalized for severe trauma (incidence 0.012%). Most of the injuries occurred at work (57.12%) or at home (35.15%) and were conjunctival or corneal abrasions or corneal foreign bodies (work: 54.21%, home: 32.79%). Although minor, these injuries determined a significant loss of working days (15,674). Most of the school injuries occurred before 15 years of age. At work, a higher incidence of conjunctival/corneal abrasions and foreign bodies occurred in the 25-45 years range, whereas open-globe injuries had a similar incidence in the 15-24 and 25-44 age groups (0.16% and 0.20%), suggesting that younger workers are more susceptible to severe trauma. CONCLUSIONS: Although most of the injuries seen in an Emergency Department in Italy were minor, they were associated with a significant morbidity. In Torino, most of the traumatic eye injuries occurred at work or at home. Preventive and informative