Presenter Profile
Charles Jennissen, MD
University of Iowa
Department of Emergency Medicine
Stead Family Department of Pediatrics
charles-jennissen@uiowa.edu
Charles Jennissen, MD, is a pediatric emergency medicine physician and a clinical professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and the Stead Family Department of Pediatrics at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. Dr. Jennissen is the Principal Investigator for IFCK at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital and presently serves on the IFCK National Board. He grew up on a dairy farm in central Minnesota and has been an advisory board member of I-CASH (Iowa Center for Agricultural Safety and Health) for 26 years. He feels honored to have received the National IFCK Principal Investigator of the Year Award in 2023.
Presentations
Off-Road Vehicle-Related Eye Injuries in the U.S.
Nicholas Stange, MD MPH
Charles Jennissen, MD
Off-road vehicles remain a public health concern in the U.S. and are associated with approximately 700 deaths and 100,000 emergency department visits per year. Our study objective was to determine the epidemiology of eye injuries related to off-road vehicles, including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), dune buggies and utility task vehicles (UTVs), with determination of the mechanisms of injury and associated diagnoses and the trend of injuries over time.
Off-road vehicle-related eye injuries were identified from 2004-2023 using the nationally representative National Electronic Injury Surveillance System which is maintained by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Periorbital injuries were not included. The database narratives were utilized to code the mechanism of injury. Descriptive and comparative analyses (chi-square and Fisher’s exact test) were performed.
An estimated 20,076 ORV-related eye injuries (yearly average 1,004 cases) occurred, but incidents decreased significantly over time. Greater decreases in eye injuries were seen among youth, males, and those occurring at home or on farms/ranches. Injured victims were 77% males, 76% adults, and 90% non-Hispanic White. Nearly half (46%) occurred at home and 32% at a place of recreation/sports. Primary injury mechanisms included being hit by a foreign body/projectile (52%), hit by a branch (17%), and vehicle collisions/ejections (13%). The most common diagnoses were eye abrasions/contusions (55%) and foreign bodies (19%). Severe injuries included lacerations, hyphemas, traumatic uveitis, retinal detachments and ruptured globes. The vast majority (97%) were able to be discharged. Debris in foreign body/projectile injuries were 70% grass/dirt/dust/rocks, 20% insects and 5% sticks/wood. Only 1.4% of operators/passengers injured were documented as using safety glasses/goggles, with few using helmets. Injury mechanisms varied significantly between adult males and females, p=0.002. Higher proportions of injured youth were females and required admission for their injuries as compared to adults, p=0.002 and p=0.043, respectively.
ORV-related eye injuries are typically due to mechanisms that could have been avoided or have their severity decreased with the use of eye protection. The promotion and use of helmets with face shields or safety googles when riding ORVs are critical for preventing these injuries, especially among youth who had greater proportions of severe eye injuries requiring admission.
1. Describe the trend in overall and pediatric off-road vehicle-related eye injuries over time.
2. Identify at least three mechanisms for off-road vehicle-related eye injuries.
3. State two comparative differences between off-road vehicle-related youth versus adults and how most of these injuries could be prevented.