Rural Americans are five times more likely to wind up in the emergency department for an eye injury compared to their urban counterparts, according to a recent report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

AHRQ analyzed data from its 2008 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample to compile its summary. In 2008, there were about 636,619 emergency visits related to eye injuries, or 209 visits per 100,000 Americans.

The agency found that eye injuries differed by region. Specifically, rural Americans made 646 visits to emergency departments per 100,000 people, compared to 120 visits per 100,000 people in urban settings.

Interestingly, residents of the rural Northeast were most frequently seen in emergency departments (256 visits per 10,000 people), while those in the West were seen the least (156 visits per 100,000 people). The Midwest and the South fell in the middle, with 242 visits and 200 visits per 100,000 people, respectively.

Of the patients who were treated in the ER and then released, the three most common eye injuries sustained were corneal scratches (50%), cuts to the eyelid or area around the eye (9%) and bruises to the eye area (7%). Causes of injury included blows to the eye (32% of injuries), falling down (9%), eye contact with a caustic substance (4%), insect bites or other reasons (3%), and motor vehicle accident (< 3%).

Hospitals reported admitting 3% of patients for eye injuries in 2008. Common injuries were wounds to tear glands (17%), bruised eye sockets (15%) and bruised eyelids (11%). Causes of injury included, in order of predominance, falls (36%), motor vehicle accidents (19%), sustained blows (12%), insect bites (3%) and caustic burns (1%).

The report also found that eye injury-related emergency visits were 1.7 times higher for males (262 visits per 100,000 people) than females (158 visits per 100,000 people), and an overwhelming percentage (73.6%) of emergency visits were by patients 44 years and younger.   

Download the full report at www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb112.pdf.