TY - JOUR PY - 2022// TI - A 20-year nationwide analysis of golf-associated eye injuries in the United States JO - American journal of emergency medicine A1 - Kim, Eric J. A1 - Ganga, Arjun A1 - Rana, Viren A1 - Lee, James A1 - Elnemer, William A1 - Pani, Altin A1 - Migliori, Michael SP - 175 EP - 178 VL - 61 IS - N2 - PURPOSE: Existing knowledge regarding golf-associated eye injuries (GEIs) is sparse. The purpose of this study was to characterize the types of GEIs, examine the mechanisms of injury, describe the characteristics of GEI victims, and determine the incidence of GEIs during the 2002-2021 period using the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) database.

METHODS: Deidentified patient records were analyzed. Each GEI was assigned into a specific category of diagnosis, and the mechanism of injury was determined. National estimates were collected for each year, and simple linear regression modeling was used to determine trends over time. Furthermore, patient variables for sex, race, and age were analyzed.

RESULTS: The NEISS query provided a total of 379 GEIs for analysis. GEIs were most common in adult males, with a decreasing, although not statistically significant, trend during this period (β = -17.88, p = 0.110). Children were more likely to have a GEI caused by a golf club while adults were more likely to have one caused by the surrounding environment. Across all age groups, contusions and corneal abrasions were the most common GEIs, constituting 50.4% (190/377) of all eye injuries, followed by foreign body injuries (9%, 34/377) and then irritation/inflammation of the eye (8%, 30/377). The most common mechanism of injury among all players involved adverse interactions with the environment (37.7%, 142/377).

CONCLUSION: Contradictory to existing literature, we show that minor GEIs are more common than severe ones. Rather than golf clubs or balls, environmental elements are the leading cause of GEIs.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 0735-6757 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2022.09.024 ID - ref1 ER -