Skip Navigation Archive: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Archive: Agency for Healthcare Research Quality www.ahrq.gov
Archival print banner

This information is for reference purposes only. It was current when produced and may now be outdated. Archive material is no longer maintained, and some links may not work. Persons with disabilities having difficulty accessing this information should contact us at: https://info.ahrq.gov. Let us know the nature of the problem, the Web address of what you want, and your contact information.

Please go to www.ahrq.gov for current information.

More Rural Americans Treated in Emergency Departments for Eye Injuries

AHRQ News and Numbers, May 12, 2011

AHRQ News and Numbers provides statistical highlights on the use and cost of health services and health insurance in the United States.

Rural Americans were 5 times more likely than urban residents to be treated in emergency departments for eye injuries in 2008, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

The Federal agency found that rural Americans made 646 visits to hospital emergency departments per 100,000 people in 2008, compared to 120 visits per 100,000 people by those in urban areas. People in the Northeast were the most frequently seen in emergency departments for eye injury (256 visits per 100,000 people) and those in the West the least (156 visits per 100,000 people). The Midwest and South fell in between—242 visits and 200 visits per 100,000 people, respectively.

AHRQ also found that in 2008, for patients treated in the emergency department and released (97 percent of all patients treated for eye injuries):

  • The three most common types of the roughly 637,000 eye injuries were cornea scratches (50 percent), followed by cuts to the eyelid or around the eye (9 percent), and bruises around the eye (7 percent).
  • Of these injuries, 32 percent were caused by being hit in the eye by something or someone, falling down (9 percent), getting a caustic substance in the eye (4 percent), insect bites or other reasons (3 percent), or being in a motor vehicle accident (nearly 3 percent).

For the 3 percent of patients admitted to the hospital for eye injuries in 2008:

  • The most common types of injuries were wounds to the tear glands (17 percent), bruised eye sockets (15 percent), and bruised eyelids (11 percent).
  • Falls were the major cause of these injuries (36 percent), followed by motor vehicle accidents (19 percent), being hit by something or somebody (12 percent), other reasons including insect bites (3 percent), and getting burned by a caustic substance (1 percent).

This AHRQ News and Numbers summary is based on data from Emergency Department Visits Related to Eye Injuries, 2008. The report uses data from the Agency's 2008 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample. For information about this AHRQ database, go to https://www.ahrq.gov/data/hcup/datahcup.htm.

For other information, or to speak with an AHRQ data expert, please contact Bob Isquith at Bob.Isquith@ahrq.hhs.gov or call (301) 427-1539.

Page last reviewed May 2011
Internet Citation: More Rural Americans Treated in Emergency Departments for Eye Injuries: AHRQ News and Numbers, May 12, 2011. May 2011. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. https://archive.ahrq.gov/news/newsroom/news-and-numbers/051211.html

 

The information on this page is archived and provided for reference purposes only.

 

AHRQ Advancing Excellence in Health Care