Firearm-associated ocular injuries: analysis of national trauma data

• Autor(a) principal: Truong,Timothy
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Outros Autores: He,Catherine Hua, Poulsen,David Michael, Parsikia,Afshin, Mbekeani,Joyce Nanjinga
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Arquivos brasileiros de oftalmologia (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-27492021000100058
• topic: Eye injuries; Firearms; Database; demographic disparity

ABSTRACT Purpose: The United States of America has the highest gun ownership rate of all high-income nations, and firearms have been identified as a leading cause of ocular trauma and visual impairment. The purpose of this study was to characterize firearm-associated ocular injury and identify at-risk groups. Methods: Patients admitted with firearm-associated ocular injury were identified from the National Trauma Data Bank (2008-2014) using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnostic codes and E-codes for external causes. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS 24 software. Significance was set at p<0.05. Results: Of the 235,254 patients, 8,715 (3.7%) admitted with firearm-associated trauma had ocular injuries. Mean (standard deviation) age was 33.8 (16.9) years. Most were males (85.7%), White (46.6%), and from the South (42.9%). Black patients comprised 35% of cases. Common injuries were orbital fractures (38.6%) and open globe injuries (34.7%). Frequent locations of injury were at home (43.8%) and on the street (21.4%). Black patients had the highest risk of experiencing assault (odds ratio [OR]: 9.0; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.02-10.11; p<0.001) and street location of injury (OR: 3.05; 95% CI: 2.74-3.39; p<0.001), while White patients had the highest risk of self-­inflicted injury (OR: 10.53; 95% CI: 9.39-11.81; p<0.001) and home location of injury (OR: 3.64; 95% CI: 3.33-3.98; p<0.001). There was a steadily increasing risk of self-inflicted injuries with age peaking in those >80 years (OR: 12.01; 95% CI: 7.49-19.23; p<0.001). Mean (standard deviation) Glasgow Coma Scale and injury severity scores were 10 (5.5) and 18.6 (13.0), respectively. Most injuries (53.1%) were classified as severe or very severe injury, 64.6% had traumatic brain injury, and mortality occurred in 16% of cases. Conclusion: Most firearm-associated ocular injuries occurred in young, male, White, and Southern patients. Blacks were disproportionally affected. Most firearm-associated ocular injuries were sight-­threatening and associated with traumatic brain injury. The majority survived, with potential long-term disabilities. The demographic differences identified in this study may represent potential targets for prevention.