FDA studies injury rate

Contact lens-related injuries send approximately 17,000 children and teens to emergency departments in the US each year according to a new study in the journal Pediatrics.

This amounts to a quarter of the approximate 70,000 visits by children and teens to US emergency departments because of problems related to medical devices.

The study by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) observed that typical problems included infections and corneal abrasions. The researchers are now trying to determine how and why the problems occurred and how often they also happen in adults. The FDA may issue device warnings depending on the findings.