Pickleball-related eye injuries presenting to United States emergency departments, 2010-2023
Abstract
Purpose: To characterize the epidemiology of pickleball-related eye injuries in the United States.
Methods: Data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System were analyzed for individuals treated in US emergency departments (ED) for pickleball-related eye injuries from 2010 through 2023.
Results: Based on a sample of 117 actual cases, there were an estimated 6,015 individuals treated in US emergency departments for pickleball-related eye injury. From 2022 to 2023, the rate of injuries increased by 37.3%. The mean age of individuals was 59.9 years. Approximately 54.7% of individuals were male. The most common mechanisms of injury were fall with facial trauma (n = 71 [60.7%]), direct impact from a pickleball paddle (n = 18 [15.4%]), and direct impact from a pickleball (n = 12 [10.3%]). The most frequently associated primary diagnoses were laceration (n = 45 [38.5%]), contusions or abrasions (n = 27 [23.1%]), blunt trauma (n = 17 [14.5), and fractures (n = 14 [12.0%]). The top two specific ocular surface or intraocular diagnoses were abrasions and iritis. Most individuals (n = 115 [98.3%]) were treated and released or examined and released without treatment.
Conclusion: Based on our analysis of a national database, the frequency of pickleball-related eye injuries treated in US EDs has increased, although most ocular injuries are clinically minor.
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a cohort study, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 6,015 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- The Matrisome: In Silico Definition and In Vivo Characterization by Proteomics of Normal and Tumor Extracellular Matrices
- The Escherichia coli MG1655 in silico metabolic genotype: Its definition, characteristics, and capabilities
- In silico pharmacology for drug discovery: methods for virtual ligand screening and profiling
- In silico prediction of splice-altering single nucleotide variants in the human genome
- In silico clinical trials: how computer simulation will transform the biomedical industry
- In silico optimization of a guava antimicrobial peptide enables combinatorial exploration for peptide design
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.