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VOLUME 8 , ISSUE 1 ( January-June, 2020 ) > List of Articles

Original Article

A Study on Prevalence of Firecracker Injury and Outcomes with Demographic Profile of Patients Visiting the Emergency Department of a Tertiary Care Center of North India during the Festive Season of Diwali

Arushee Bhatnagar, Shakti Kumar Gupta, Narimeti Rakesh, Kshitija Singh

Keywords : Diwali, Emergency department, Firecracker

Citation Information : Bhatnagar A, Gupta SK, Rakesh N, Singh K. A Study on Prevalence of Firecracker Injury and Outcomes with Demographic Profile of Patients Visiting the Emergency Department of a Tertiary Care Center of North India during the Festive Season of Diwali. Int J Res Foundation Hosp Healthc Adm 2020; 8 (1):1-6.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10035-1131

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 14-09-2023

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2020; The Author(s).


Abstract

Introduction: Avoidable blindness is defined as blindness that could be either treated or prevented by cost-effective or known means. As per the National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB), the prevalence of blindness in India was 1.1% in 2001–2002 and 1% in 2006–2007. Aim: To study the demographic and clinical profile of patients sustaining firecracker injuries in the eye during the Diwali festival in the Emergency Department of Dr Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, AIIMS, New Delhi, India. Methodology: A self-validated questionnaire was developed after a pilot study for 1 week with a sample of 30 patients. A sample size of 3,374 was taken; of which, 76 patients met the inclusion criterion. The questionnaire had two sections of which the first section describing the demography of patients which was filled by the patient/relative. The other section was concerned with the clinical profile of patients filled by the doctor/nursing staff. The data was analyzed on STRATA 12. Results and observation: Out of 83 patients with eye casualties, 76 patients met our inclusion criteria where 85.11% were males and 14.45% were females. About 93.4% of the affected population belonged to the Hindu religion and 72.37% were residents of Delhi. The age of 10 were below 30.76% and 47.37% belonged to 10–20 year age-group while 3.95% were above 50. Most were bystanders (48.6%) and others were injured (47.3%) by themselves while lighting firecrackers. Major complication observed was the unilateral partial temporary loss of vision (93%) and unilateral permanent complete loss of vision in 1 (1.32%) patient and a bilateral permanent complete loss of vision in 1 (1.32%) patient. Conclusion: Eye injuries (2.3%) due to firecrackers during the festive season of Diwali were males (85.53%), unsupervised children, and teenagers belonging to 10–20 year age-group (47.37%) and the majority were Hindus (93.4%).


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