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LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Year : 2020  |  Volume : 68  |  Issue : 5  |  Page : 948

A surge in eye clinic nonattendance under 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak


Department of Ophthalmology, Tung Wah Eastern Hospital, Hong Kong

Date of Web Publication20-Apr-2020

Correspondence Address:
Dr. Sunny Chi Lik Au
9/F, MO office, Lo Ka Chow Memorial Ophthalmic Centre, Tung Wah Eastern Hospital, 19 Eastern Hospital Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

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Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None


DOI: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_673_20

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How to cite this article:
Au SC. A surge in eye clinic nonattendance under 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak. Indian J Ophthalmol 2020;68:948

How to cite this URL:
Au SC. A surge in eye clinic nonattendance under 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak. Indian J Ophthalmol [serial online] 2020 [cited 2024 Mar 29];68:948. Available from: https://journals.lww.com/ijo/pages/default.aspx/text.asp?2020/68/5/948/282891



Sir,

Being a pandemic but mainly a respiratory disease,[1] 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is fearing patients back from the ophthalmology clinics with possible conjunctival transmission and evidence of human-to-human transmission.[2]

Even with strict sterilization of instruments, high-risk activities do exist in an ophthalmology clinic. Disease transmission is possible through tears via cross-eye anesthetic and mydriatic drops applications;[3] and even via noncontact examinations such as ocular response analyzer and tonometry,[4] when microaerosols are generated from the air puff.[5]

Herein, we report our public emergency hospital-based general ophthalmology clinic situations. There was no confirmed COVID-19 case from our acute hospital during the investigative period. The background daily nonattendance rate 1 month before the incidence was 6.0% (14 out of 234)–10.3% (22 out of 213), which rose to 19.1% (38 out of 199)–22.0% (42 out of 191) after the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Hong Kong. The portion of the patient defaulting appointment further doubled to 42.1% (96 out of 228)–46.0% (109 out of 237) after the first COVID-19 mortality case.

Around 547 patients, ranged from 2 to 93 years (average 65.6) were contacted through telephone for reasons of nonattendance while rescheduling their defaulted appointments. For pediatric cases (22.9%), their parents were contacted. Most defaulted patients (44.6%) reported fear of COVID-19 infection upon attending the hospitals [Table 1]. Among the 15.0% of patients who reported forgetfulness, 6 patients claimed that they were busy purchasing facemasks, alcohol swabs and daily necessities for the foreseeable prolonged pandemic. In short, more than half of the nonattendance patients reported COVID-19 related reasons.
Table 1: Reasons for ophthalmology clinic nonattendance under 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak

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About 26.0% (142 patients) were glaucoma patients who required long-term regular glaucoma medications whereas 19.6% (107 patients) were following up for macula diseases who required serial monitoring and timely antivascular endothelial growth factor injections. Despite the advances of teleophthalmology, most applications are on screening and monitoring aspects of diseases. The fundamental treatment of diseases still relies on physical patient-doctor interactions.

In conclusion, we observed a sudden surge in ophthalmology clinic nonattendance during the local COVID-19 outbreak, especially after the locally reported mortality cases. The situation is worrisome as disease progression is possible without timely treatment for potentially blinding eye diseases.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.



 
  References Top

1.
Hui DS, I Azhar E, Madani TA, Ntoumi F, Kock R, Dar O, et al. The continuing 2019-nCoV epidemic threat of novel coronaviruses to global health - The latest 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China. Int J Infect Dis 2020;91:264-6.  Back to cited text no. 1
    
2.
Riou J, Althaus CL. Pattern of early human-to-human transmission of Wuhan 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), December 2019 to January 2020. Euro Surveill 2020;25. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.4.2000058.  Back to cited text no. 2
    
3.
Seewoodhary R, Stevens S. Transmission and control of infection in ophthalmic practice. Community Eye Health 1999;12:25-8.  Back to cited text no. 3
    
4.
Atkins N, Hodge W, Li B. A systematic review regarding tonometry and the transmission of infectious diseases. J Clin Med Res 2018;10:159-65.  Back to cited text no. 4
    
5.
Britt JM, Clifton BC, Barnebey HS, Mills RP. Microaerosol formation in noncontact 'air-puff' tonometry. Arch Ophthalmol 1991;109:225-8.  Back to cited text no. 5
    



 
 
    Tables

  [Table 1]


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