Abstract

Objective: To analyze the demography and clinical profile of ocular emergency surgeries performed during COVID-19 pandemic in a tertiary eye care center.

Design: This is a retrospective study. We included data of the patients who underwent ocular emergency surgeries from 24.03.2020 to 15.05.2020 (24.03.2020 was the date of commencement of national wide lockdown in our country). Data from the corresponding time of the previous year (24.03.2019 to 15.05.2019) were taken for comparative analysis.

Setting: This is a retrospective Hospital based study. The data were retrieved from electronic medical record system.

Participants: Patients who underwent emergency ocular surgery during the study period were included. 242 patients were included for 2020 study period and 948 for 2019 study period.

Results: Overall 242 patients underwent ocular emergency surgeries during the pandemic. The mean age of the patients was 41.52 ± 22.6, median was 45 years (Interquartile range, IQR: 24 - 60), were mostly adults 187 (79.3%). Majority of them were males 157 (64.9%). More than half of our patients 127 (52.69%) presented from within 60 km of the point of care. History of ocular trauma was seen in 130 (53.9%) patients and among them 42 (32.3%) fall under the age group of 0 - 15 years. Most common indications for surgery were open globe injury 64 (26.4%) and rhegmatogenous retinal detachment 38 (15.7%). There was significant increase in open globe injury (from 12.8% to 26.4%) and lens induced glaucoma (7.7% to 13.2%) when compared to the corresponding time of the previous year.

Conclusion: We need to educate people regarding the importance of timely treatment of ocular emergencies to get a better outcome. Health care sector should be well equipped and accessible to handle emergencies during these pandemics. Hospitals need to prepare for expected surge in patients during post pandemic era.

Keywords: Pandemic; Emergency Surgery; Ocular Trauma; Open Globe Injury

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Citation

Citation: Madhu Shekhar., et al. “Analysis of Emergency Ocular Surgeries during a Pandemic- Experience of a Tertiary Eye Care Centre". Acta Scientific Ophthalmology 3.11 (2020): 33-38.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Madhu Shekhar., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.