Etiology and Characteristics of Patients Presenting with Eyelid Lacerations at a Level 1 Trauma Center

Abstract

Purpose

To investigate the etiology and demographic associations of patients presenting with eyelid lacerations to a US level 1 trauma center emergency department (ED).

Patient and Methods

A retrospective chart review of all patients with eyelid lacerations presenting to the ED at a single level 1 trauma center was performed. Eyelid lacerations were categorized as simple eyelid lacerations, eyelid lacerations with eyelid margin involvement, and eyelid lacerations with nasolacrimal system involvement. Data on demographics and clinical characteristics were analyzed.

Results

A total of 303 eyelid laceration cases were identified, 56% were simple eyelid lacerations, followed by 24% with nasolacrimal involvement and 20% involving the eyelid margin. Sixty percent of animal bites/scratches resulted in a nasolacrimal system involving laceration, most commonly affecting children. Falls were the most common etiology in children and patients over the age of 60. Black patients, patients presenting with concomitant ophthalmic injuries, and those with Medicaid insurance were more likely to have an assault etiology (p < 0.05 for all).

Conclusion

Falls were the most common etiology for eyelid lacerations in children and the elderly, while assault was the most common in adults. Identifying the most common etiology by demographic factors can help raise awareness regarding targeted prevention strategies for high-risk populations.

Keywords:

• eyelid lacerations
• ocular trauma
• eye injury
• emergency department

Abbreviations

ED, Emergency department; US, United States; ICD-10, International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10); OR, Odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Wilmer Biostatistics Core Grant P30EY001765. The funding source was not involved in any part of the study.

The abstract of this paper was presented at the 2022 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology as a poster presentation with interim findings. The poster’s abstract was published in “Poster Abstracts” in the Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science Journal https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2780571.

Disclosure

Dr Fatemeh Rajaii reports personal fees for consulting and stock ownership (sold) from Horizon Therapeutics, principal investigator in sponsored research for Immunovant, personal fees for consulting from Acelyrin, outside the submitted work. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.