Trends in pediatric ocular trauma presenting to an ophthalmology-specific emergency department during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Because children remained at home throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the potential existed for an increased rate of ocular injuries. We performed a retrospective chart review of children (≤18 years of age) presenting to an ophthalmology emergency department (ED) at a single institution from March 1 to August 31, 2020, to describe the trends in ocular trauma during the pandemic. Of the 10,738 ED patients, 6% (643) were children. Of these, 156 (24%) sustained ocular trauma. Although the overall number of visits was 44% lower than the same 6-month period in 2019, trauma-related visits were only 34% lower. The mean age was 9.1 ± 5.53 years (range, 4 months to 18 years) and over half (57%) of patients were male. Most closed-globe trauma was due to blunt (48.6%) or sharp (14.4%) objects, foreign bodies (23.3%), or chemical injuries (13.7%). Ten patients (6.4%) presented with an open globe. Blunt trauma was most common regardless of age; however, chemical injuries tended to occur in younger patients compared with all other diagnosis groups (4.7 ± 4.6 vs 9.7 ± 5.4 years; P = 0.0002). Although COVID-19 restrictions limited school, recreational activities, and team sports, ocular injuries remained prevalent in children.