• Loren M Sher, David McD Taylor, Jeff Robinson, Janet Browning, Mark Colbridge, Dawson Macleod, Hamish McCracken, and Christine McKenzie.
• Emergency Department, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria 3084, Australia.
• Eur J Emerg Med. 2012 Dec 1;19(6):389-94.

ObjectiveWe aimed to determine the epidemiology of chemical eye exposures reported to the Victorian Poisons Information Centre, Australia.MethodsThis was a prospective case series comprising consecutive calls to the Victorian Poisons Information Centre that related to chemical eye exposures (January 2009-2010). Data included patient demographics, place and cause of exposure, nature of the chemical, symptoms and advice given. Patients were telephoned 48 h later to determine the outcome and whether the advice had been taken.ResultsOne thousand four hundred and eighty patients were enroled (45.7%, aged <16 years) with 937 (63.3%) followed up. Cleaning agents (32.6%), topical personal products (25.4%), industrial agents (11.8%), herbicides/pesticides (5.7%), petroleum products (4.2%) and miscellaneous agents (20.3%) comprised the exposure groups. Men were exposed to significantly more industrial agents (74.8 vs. 25.2%) and fewer topical personal agents (31.3 vs. 68.7%) than women, (P<0.001). Children were exposed to significantly more topical personal agents (65.2 vs. 34.8%) and fewer industrial agents (28.7 vs. 71.3%) than adults (P<0.001). The median time between exposure and the call for advice was significantly shorter for children (P<0.001). Eight hundred and ten (54.7%) patients were advised that medical care was not required. The remainder were advised to seek care or were already receiving care. At follow-up, only 63 (6.7%) patients were symptomatic. Eight hundred and fifty patients (90.8%) had complied with the advice given. There were no compliance differences between men/women and children/adults (P>0.05).ConclusionMost exposures are of little consequence. However, there are clear epidemiological differences between sex and age groups. These findings will help inform prevention strategies.

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