Medical And Social Aspects Of Ophthalmological Emergency Care [aspectos Médicos E Sociais No Atendimento Oftalmológico De Urgência]

Purpose: A survey was carried out on one hundred patients of the Emergency Service of the Ophthalmology Department of the Hospital das Clinicas of the University of Campinas (UNICAMP), in order to analyze the personal characteristics and the barriers against getting resolving ophthalmologic assistance. Variables, were the following: sex, age, home town, average distance between the place of initial symptoms and first visit to the hospital, time spent between the first examination (if performed in any other service) and the examination performed at the Hospital das Clinicas of University of Campinas, diagnosis, veracity of emergency, need to refer patients previously seen in other services to our Service and possibility of assistance and treatment at a secondary level. Methods: The sample showed the following characteristics: distances between 20 and 100 kilometers covered by 50.0% of the patients to be seen at University of Campinas. 75.0% of those patients needed someone to stay with them and 67.0% came from other municipalities. The long distances covered meant additional expenses for the treatment of diseases which should be treated locally. Results: Among the patients referred to University of Campinas by ophthalmologists of other services, 87.5% could have their diseases treated at a secondary level of assistance and 66.7% of real emergencies and 60% of false emergencies took longer than 7 days to reach the emergency room of University of Campinas. This shows the poor infrastructure of secondary services regarding excellence of emergency care and education of patients. Conclusions: We recommend education of general physi- cians and ophthalmologists for emergency eye care and also the supply of both secondary and tertiary public services or medicare, strategically setup in the whole state of Sao Paulo.6413943Bonatti, J.Á., Yamamoto, J.H., Warren, S.H.C., Santo, R.M., Kara-José, N., Iatrogenia em trauma perfurante do globo ocular (1987) Rev Bras Oftalmol, 46, pp. 45-48Kara-José, N., Arieta, C.E.L., Temporini, E.R., Kang, K.M., Ambrósio, L.E., Tratamento cirúrgico da catarata senil. Óbices para o paciente (1996) Arq Bras Oftalmol, 59, pp. 573-577Gullo, R.M., Costa, V.P., Benardi, L., Kara-José, N., Condições visuais de pacientes glaucomatosos em um hospital universitário (1996) Arq Bras Oftalmol, 59, pp. 147-150Alves, M.R., Kara-José, N., Prado, J.I., Usuba, F.S., Onclinx, T.M., Marantes, C.R., Ferimento perfurante ocular: 400 casos admitidos na Clínica Oftalmológica do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (1995) Arq Bras Oftalmol, 58, pp. 342-345Bisol, S.H.D.F., Reggi, J.R.A., Traumas oculares: Nosologia de 1171 casos (1995) Arq Bras Oftalmol, 58, pp. 105-112Kara-Junior, N., Oliveira, N.J.C., Silva, A.L.B., Schellini, A.S., Acidentes oculares ocupacionais- ocorrência em Botucatu-SP, no período de 1988 a 1992 (1994) Arq Bras Oftalmol, 57, pp. 389-394Layaun, S.E.D., Schor, P., Rodrigues, M.L.V., Perfil da demanda de um serviço de oftalmologia em uma unidade de emergência (1992) Rev Bras Oftalmol, 51, pp. 171-173Edwards, R.S., Ophthalmic urgencies in a district general hospital casualty department (1987) Br J Ophthalmol, 71, pp. 938-942Jones, N.P., Hayward, J.M., Khaw, P.T., Claoué, C.M.P., Elkington, A.R., Function of na ophthalmic: "accident and emergency" department: Results of a six month survey (1986) Br Med J, 292, pp. 188-191Kara-José, N., Alves, M.R., In Moreira, J.R., Freitas, D., Kruta, N.S., (1997) Trauma Ocular, 1. , Rio de Janeiro: Cultura Médic