Comparison of ocular emergencies in the COVID-19 pandemic and pre-pandemic period in the tertiary hospital of Turkey

Authors : Selda ÇELİK DÜLGER, Mehmet ÇITIRIK, Esra BAHADİR CAMGOZ, Mehmet Yasin TEKE

Pages : 882-886

Doi:10.32322/jhsm.1099202

View : 25 | Download : 13

Publication Date : 2022-05-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Aim: To evaluate clinical characteristics and alterations in the of patients admitted to the ocular emergency department insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(ED); of a tertiary hospital during coronavirus disease period in 2019 insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(COVID-19); and pre-pandemic period. Also, we intended to share our strategy and experience to prevent disease transmission to health-care staff during patient submission. Material and Method: In this study, 45901 patients who applied to ED between January and May in 2020 were reviewed retrospectively for ocular manifestations. The five months divided into two groups as the pre-pandemic period and the pandemic period. Clinical and demographic data were collected. The proportion of urgent and non-urgent cases in the pre-pandemic and pandemic period was compared. Results: A total of 30,576 patients insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(66.6%); admitted to ED before COVID-19 and 15,325 patients admitted insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(33.4%); during COVID-19 era. Five hundred thirty-eight insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(1.8%); of cases admitted in the pre-pandemic period, and 395 insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(2.6%); of the cases admitted in the pandemic period were in the real urgent category. Conjunctivitis, blepharitis and hordeolum, dry eye diseases, corneal diseases were the most common conditions in both pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. Conclusion: This study showed that admissions to ED for ocular conditions during the pandemic period decreased significantly, and the rate of real urgent cases increased. Yet even during the pandemic period, non-urgent patients continue to come to the ED.
Keywords : Coronavirus disease, COVID 19, emergency department, patient triage, ophthalmology