AIM: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of patients hospitalized for ocular trauma during the novel coronavirus(COVID-19)epidemic.

METHODS: A retrospective case analysis. Totally 876 cases(905 eyes)of ocular trauma were analyzed in this study, including 545 cases(565 eyes)from January to June 2019 were enrolled ascontrol group, and 331 cases(340 eyes)from January to June 2020 were enrolled in the research group. Information regarding age, sex, location of injury, cause of injury, place of residence, and type of injury were collected and analyzed.

RESULTS: The number of hospitalisation for ocular trauma in the research group decreased by 39.3% compared with the control group. The age distribution of patients showed a double peak, at 0-10 years(20.55%, 21.45%)and 41-50 years(17.98%, 19.03%)in the control group and research group, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the age distribution between the two groups(P=0.907). Men were predominantly injured in both the control and the research groups, accounting for 80.37% and 83.69%, respectively(P=0.219). The proportion of home injuries in the research group(28.40%)was higher than the control group(11.38%)(P<0.001). The proportion of mechanical eye injuries in the research group(98.19%)was higher than the control group(95.60%)(P=0.041), and the proportion of open globe injuries(85.54%)was also higher than the control group(76.58%)(P=0.001). The proportion of patients with no light perception in the research group(18.86%)was higher than that of the control group(9.53%)(P<0.001).

CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 epidemic period, the total number of ocular trauma cases was significantly reduced. Mechanical eye injuries are still the main type for hospitalisation of patients with eye injuries. The awareness of eye injury prevention should be strengthened during the period of epidemic.