Epidemiology
Corneal abrasions are common eye injuries in both men and women across all age groups, but occur more frequently in men due to higher-rates of occupational eye injuries.[1] In one study conducted in US emergency departments, contusion or abrasion (44.4%) was the most common eye injury, followed by a foreign body (30.8%).[2] In a subsequent study in a European eye emergency referral unit, corneal abrasion (28.4%) and corneal foreign body (26.9%) were the most commonly diagnosed eye traumas.[3]
Recurrent corneal erosions are common in the third and fourth decades, and most will be unilateral (up to 90%). After trauma (45% to 65%), epithelial basement membrane degeneration is the main cause of recurrent erosions (26% to 29%), followed by less common causes including corneal dystrophies and refractive surgery.[4][5]
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