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. 2020 May;68(5):711-724.
doi: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_871_20.

All India Ophthalmological Society - Indian Journal of Ophthalmology consensus statement on preferred practices during the COVID-19 pandemic

Sabyasachi Sengupta  1 , Santosh G Honavar  2 , Mahipal S Sachdev  3 , Namrata Sharma  4 , Atul Kumar  5 , Jagat Ram  6 , Rohit Shetty  7 , Girish S Rao  8 , Kim Ramasamy  9 , Rohit Khanna  10 , Elesh Jain  11 , Kasturi Bhattacharjee  12 , Ashvin Agarwal  13 , S Natarajan  14 , Tatyarao P Lahane  15 ; Writing Committee on behalf of the All India Ophthalmological Society - Indian Journal of Ophthalmology Expert Group for COVID-19 Practice Guidelines; Composition of the All India Ophthalmological Society - Indian Journal of Ophthalmology Expert Group for COVID-19 Practice Guidelines includes the Writing Committee (as listed) and the following members (in alphabetical order by the first name):
Collaborators, Affiliations

All India Ophthalmological Society - Indian Journal of Ophthalmology consensus statement on preferred practices during the COVID-19 pandemic

Sabyasachi Sengupta et al. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2020 May.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken tragic proportions and has disrupted lives globally. In the wake of governmental lockdowns, ophthalmologists need practical and actionable guidelines based on advisories from national health departments on how to conduct their duties during nationwide lockdowns and after these are lifted. In this paper, we present a preferred practice pattern (PPP) based on consensus discussions between leading ophthalmologists and health care professionals in India including representatives from major governmental and private institutions as well as the All India Ophthalmological Society leadership. In this document, the expert panel clearly defines the range of activities for Indian ophthalmologists during the ongoing lockdown phase and precautions to be taken once the lockdown is lifted. Guidelines for triage, governmental guidelines for use of personal protective equipment from ophthalmologists' point of view, precautions to be taken in the OPD and operating room as well as care of various ophthalmic equipment have been described in detail. These guidelines will be applicable to all practice settings including tertiary institutions, corporate and group practices and individual eye clinics and should help Indian ophthalmologists in performing their professional responsibilities without being foci of disease transmission.

Keywords: COVID-19; Consensus; Guidelines; lockdown; ophthalmology; pandemic; precautions; preferred practice.

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Conflict of interest statement

None

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart showing the triage system to be used in ophthalmology clinics[215]
Figure 2
Figure 2
Breath shield for the slit lamp made using a thick transparent plastic sheet
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

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    1. Khanna RC, Honavar SG. All eyes on Coronavirus—What do we need to know as ophthalmologists. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2020;68:549. - PMC - PubMed
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    1. RANZCO COVID-19 Triage Guidelines. 2020. [Last accessed on 2020 Apr 04]. Available from: https://ranzco.edu/policies_and_guideli/11661/

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