Abstract
Purpose
Ocular emergencies require immediate intervention to prevent rapid vision loss or functional impairment. The aim of this study was to evaluate patients presenting to the general emergency department with ocular complaints and referred to the Eye Clinic and to determine the proportion of true ocular emergencies.
Methods
In a retrospective cross-sectional study in a tertiary hospital in Istanbul, patients aged 0-100 years who presented to the emergency department with ocular complaints between January and December 2022 were included. Inconclusive diagnoses and incomplete records were excluded. Patients were divided into three groups: Top Eye Emergencies (TEE), Relative Eye Emergencies (REE) and Non-Emergency Eye (NEE).
Results
Among 652,224 individuals seeking care, 9,982 (1.5%) were referred to the Eye Emergency Clinic. Of these, 2,788 (27.9%) were female, and 7,194 (72.1%) were male, with ages ranging from 0 to 98 years. Top Eye Emergencies (TEE), Relative Eye Emergencies (REE, and Non-emergency Eye (NEE) comprised 13%, 60%, and 27% of cases, respectively. Common Top Eye Emergencies (TEE) conditions included chemical injuries, orbital-preseptal cellulitis, and orbital fractures. Relative Eye Emergencies (REE)commonly featured corneal foreign bodies, corneal erosion, and conjunctivitis. Non-emergency Eye (NEE) mostly involved simple eye redness, trauma without eye involvement, and subconjunctival hemorrhage.
Conclusions
Consistent with the literature, 1.5% of patients presenting to the general emergency department had eye complaints. However, 27% of those referred to the ophthalmological clinic did not have an urgent eye condition. This is partly due to the high proportion of patients presenting to the emergency department with ocular complaints and the lack of knowledge of emergency physicians about ophthalmological diseases, leading to unnecessary referrals to the Ophthalmology Clinic, resulting in loss of workforce and reduced time allocated to patients with true ocular emergencies.