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Observational Study
. 2021 Mar;69(3):714-718.
doi: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_2935_20.

Impact of teleophthalmology during COVID-19 lockdown in a tertiary care center in South India

Meenakshi Ravindran  1 , Ashwin Segi  2 , Syed Mohideen  3 , Fathima Allapitchai  1 , Ramakrishna Rengappa  2
Affiliations
Observational Study

Impact of teleophthalmology during COVID-19 lockdown in a tertiary care center in South India

Meenakshi Ravindran et al. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe the experience of teleconsultations addressed at our hospital in India during the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.

Methods: This cross-sectional hospital-based study included 977 teleconsultations presenting between April 1st and May 31, 2020. A two-level protocol was implemented to triage the calls.

Results: Overall, 977 teleconsultation were addressed. Of the 621 teleconsultation addressed the most common queries were related to redness/pain/ watering/blurred vision/itching/irritation (52.49%), followed by queries related to medications (28.01%), appointments (18.84%) & 0.64% cited an emergency need to visit the hospital due to sudden loss of vision. The majority of the queries were directed to the department of cornea (58.93%) followed by retina (16.26%), cataract (13.04%), glaucoma (10.14%) & pediatric ophthalmology (1.61%). The most common advice given to the patient was related to medications (47.66%) followed by appointment-related queries (31.72%) & fixing of surgical appointment (20.61%). Among the 356 preterm babies that were screened, 57 (16.01%) were diagnosed with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Of them 3 required laser and 3 were given injection.

Conclusion: Teleconsultation is here to stay beyond the pandemic. WhatsApp was the preferred modality of communication for us. Teleophthalmology has given us insights to use this evolving technology to reach out to the population at large to provide eye care services. We believe that this mode of teleophthalmology has helped us in providing feasible eye care to the patients.

Keywords: COVID-19; South India; impact; lockdown; teleophthalmology.

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Conflict of interest statement

None

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Teleconsultation contact number
Figure 2
Figure 2
Flow chart followed for sudden diminution of vision
Figure 3
Figure 3
Flow chart followed for headache
Figure 4
Figure 4
Case scenarios during lockdown. (a) Congenital glaucoma, (b) Subconjunctival haemorrhage due to stick injury, (c) Aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity pre injection, (d) Aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity post injection
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Available from: https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/Telemedicine.pdf .
    1. Available from: https://aios.org/pdf/AIOS-Telemedicine-Practice-Guidelines.pdf .
    1. Das AV, Rani PK, Vaddavalli PK. Teleconsultations and electronic medical records driven remote patient care: Responding to the COVID-19 lockdown in India. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2020;68(6):1007–12. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India [Internet] Telemedicine Practice Guidelines. c2020. Available from: https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/Telemedicine.pdf .
    1. Recommendations for urgent and nonurgent patient care [Internet] American Academy of Ophthalmology. 2020. Available from: https://www.aao.org/headline/new-recommendation-surgentnonurgent-patient... .

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