Epidemiology of Motor Vehicle Accident-Associated Ocular Trauma

Abstract Purpose The objective is to investigate trends in cases of motor vehicle accident-associated (MVA-associated) ocular trauma in which the patient was the driver of the motor vehicle. Methods The study utilizes data from the 2007–2014 National Trauma Databank (NTDB), a national trauma registry. Status as the driver of the motor vehicle was identified using E-Codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM). Trauma diagnoses were identified using D-Codes from the ICD-9-CM. Statistics were performed using IBM SPSS Version 23. Results We identified 49,660 cases of ocular trauma secondary to an MVA. Men comprised 68.6% (34,057) of cases. Majority of injuries (55.2%) occurred in the 18-40-year age group. Orbital floor fractures (OFFs) were the most commonly observed ocular injury, occurring in 17,647 (35.5%) cases and was highest in the 41-60-year age group (37.4%). There were 2,787 cases of open globe injury (OGI) with the highest proportion of cases in the 81 + age group (7.1%). OGIs were seen in 3.0% of cases with OFFs vs. 7.1% in those without. The mortality rate was 4.3%; the rate was highest in the 81 + age group (13.5%) and lowest in the 18–40 age group (3.3%). Conclusion Men and young adults comprised the majority of cases of MVA-associated ocular trauma. OFFs were seen in approximately one-third of cases of ocular trauma. OGIs were less commonly observed when a concurrent OFF was observed. Though the overall mortality was 4.3%, there was significant variation by age group.