Frequency of ocular emergencies in a tertiary care setting in Karachi, Pakistan — It is time to reduce unnecessary visits

Objective: To examine the frequency of ocular emergencies received in a tertiary care setting. Methods: This retrospective clinical audit was undertaken at the Emergency Department of the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, and comprised data of all individuals who presented between January and October 2016. The department's triage database was used to retrieve the data on patient's age, gender, presenting complaints, time and date of presentation. Data was analyzed using SPSS 19. Results: Of the 74729 individuals who presented, 928 (1.2%) presented with ocular complaints. The age range with the highest total number of visits was 0-9 years followed by 20-29 years. A significantly higher proportion of patients with eye complaints presented between 8am and 8pm on weekends (Sundays) compared with weekdays (p< 0.001). There was no significant association between gender and time of visit (p=0.592). The most commonly reported symptom was "eye injury" 368(39.7%). A significantly higher proportion of males presented with eye injury than females (p=0.043). Conclusion: Ocular complaints accounted for a reasonable proportion of emergency visits, but many of the visits were unnecessary.