Emergency department visits for sports- and recreation-related ophthalmic injuries in the United States

• Sports- and recreation-related ophthalmic injuries accounted for an estimated 568,169 ED visits in the United States from 2015 to 2024. • Basketball accounted for the largest share of ED visits, followed by bicycling and baseball. • Bicycling contributed the largest share of cases resulting in transfer, hospital admission, or observation. • Air guns, snow skiing, and horseback riding had the highest within-activity proportions of transfer, hospital admission, or observation. To describe national estimates, patient characteristics, injury diagnoses, and emergency department (ED) disposition patterns of sports- and recreation-related ophthalmic injuries in the United States from 2015 to 2024. Retrospective cross-sectional study. ED visits for sports- and recreation-related ophthalmic injuries captured in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2024 (unweighted cases = 17,202). Cases were identified using NEISS body-part codes for the face and eye and sports- and recreation-related product codes, supplemented by narrative keyword screening. Variables analyzed included treatment year, age, sex, injury diagnosis, and ED disposition. National estimates were generated using NEISS sample weights. During the study period, an estimated 568,169 sports- and recreation-related ophthalmic injuries were treated in U.S. emergency departments (unweighted n = 17,202). Males accounted for 77.6% of the weighted national estimate, and patients aged 0-29 years represented 71.9% of the weighted national estimate. Basketball accounted for the largest share of estimated injuries overall, followed by bicycling and baseball. Most cases did not result in transfer, hospital admission, or observation. Among cases resulting in transfer, admission/hospitalization, or observation, bicycling accounted for the largest share. Within each activity category, the proportion of cases resulting in transfer, hospitalization, or observation was higher for air guns, snow skiing, and horseback riding. Annual estimates were relatively stable before 2020, declined sharply in 2020, and were higher during 2021-2024, peaking in 2024. Sports- and recreation-related ophthalmic injuries accounted for a substantial number of ED-treated injuries in the United States from 2015 to 2024, particularly among males and younger individuals. These findings provide descriptive national estimates of injury patterns that may help inform sport-specific prevention priorities.