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

Yıl 2022, , 882 - 886, 30.05.2022

Selda Çelik Dülger , Mehmet Çıtırık , Esra Bahadir Camgoz , Mehmet Yasin Teke

https://doi.org/10.32322/jhsm.1099202

Öz

Aim: To evaluate clinical characteristics and alterations in the of patients admitted to the ocular emergency department (ED) of a tertiary hospital during coronavirus disease period in 2019 (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 (66.6%) admitted to ED before COVID-19 and 15,325 patients admitted (33.4%) during COVID-19 era. Five hundred thirty-eight (1.8%) of cases admitted in the pre-pandemic period, and 395 (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.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Coronavirus disease, COVID-19, emergency department, patient triage, ophthalmology

Kaynakça

• Erenler AK, Akbulut S, Guzel M, Cetinkaya H, Karaca A, Turkoz B. Reasons for overcrowding in the emergency department: Experiences and suggestions of an education and research hospital. Turkiye Acil Tip Derg 2014; 14: 59-63.
• Wang C, Horby PW, Hayden FG, Gao GF. A novel coronavirus outbreak of global health concern. Lancet 2020; 395: 470–3.
• COVID-19. World Health Organization. https: //www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/novel-coronavirus-china. Last viewed February 18, 2020.
• Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Pandemic. https: //www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019, Last viewed April 27, 2020.
• Arinah WDS, Faisal I, Juni Muhamad Hanafiah, Ismail I, Mohamed AS. Factors associated with emergency department green zone utilization in hospital. Int J Public Heal Clin Sci 2016; 3: 159-73.
• Khan Y, Glazier RH, Moeneddin R, Schull MJ. A Population-based study of the association between socioeconomic status and emergency department utilization in Ontario, Canada. Acad Emerg Med 2011; 18: 836-43.
• Cour des Comptes: Rapport public annuel. Première partie - Lesobservations des juridictions financières. Les urgences médicales: constatset évolution récente. Février 2007; 313-47.
• Carvalho RDS, José NK. Ophthalmology emergency room at the University of São Paulo General Hospital: a tertiary hospital providing primary and secondary level care. Clinics (Sao Paulo) 2007; 62: 301-8.
• El-Mekawey HE, Abu El Einen KG, Abdelmaboud M, Khafagy A, Eltahawy EM. Epidemiology of ocular emergencies in the Egyptian population: a five-year retrospective study. Clin Ophthalmol 2011; 5: 955-60.
• Sen E, Celik S, Inanc M, Elgin U, Ozyurt B, Yilmazbas P. Seasonal distribution of ocular conditions treated at the emergency room: A 1-year prospective study. Arq Bras Oftalmol 2018; 81: 116-9.
• Cheung CA, Rogers-Martel M, Golas L, Chepurny A, Martel JB, Martel JR. Hospital-based ocular emergencies: epidemiology, treatment, and visual outcomes. Am J Emerg Medb2014; 32: 221-4.
• Olivia Li J-P, Shantha J, Wong TY, et al. Preparedness among ophthalmologists: during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Ophthalmology 2020; 127: 569–72.
• Wang Q, Wang X, Lin H. The role of triage in the prevention and control of COVID-19. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2020: 1-5.