Ophthalmic emergencies in patients under 15 years of age – a single-center analysis

Aim of the study
To analyze the reasons for referrals of patients under the age of 15 to the Ophthalmic Emergency Department (ED), to determine the type of services provided and to define the age range of children presenting to the ED most frequently.

Material and methods
The retrospective review included 537 patients below 15 years old who presented to the ED of the Ophthalmology Department of Poznan University of Medical Sciences between November 2017 and February 2019.

Results
250 girls and 287 boys aged from 10 days to 15 years old presented to the ED. Children less than 1 year old constituted 13.4% of patients, patients between 1 and 3 years old constituted 21.8%, and those between 4 and 7 constituted 28.7%. The largest group consisted of patients between 8 and 15 years old (36.1%). Injuries constituted 71 of referrals (13.2%). The patients most frequently complained of redness of the eye, discharge and eye pain. The most frequently diagnosed condition was conjunctivitis (218 patients, 40.6%), and the second most common was stye or chalazion (51 patients, 9.5%). Twenty-six patients (4.8%) required hospitalization, 4 in the ophthalmic ward (0.7%). Two hundred seventy patients (50.2%) were advised to visit an ophthalmologist for a check-up or to have a planned refraction examination.

Conclusions
Patients under 15 years old reported to the ophthalmic ED most commonly for non-traumatic reasons. The dominant diagnosis was conjunctivitis. The most common recommendation was mandatory control in the outpatient ophthalmic clinic. The most numerous group among the patients was that of children aged 8 to 15 years.