Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Aug 16;21(1):301.
doi: 10.1186/s12886-021-02054-7.

Patients' perspective on emergency treatment of ophthalmologic diseases during the first phase of SARS-CoV2 pandemic in a tertiary referral center in Germany - the COVID-DETOUR questionnaire study

Christoph Ehlken  1 , Constantin von Medem  2 , Maya Lüdemann  2 , Anna Maria Kirsch  2   3 , Johann Baptist Roider  2
Affiliations

Patients' perspective on emergency treatment of ophthalmologic diseases during the first phase of SARS-CoV2 pandemic in a tertiary referral center in Germany - the COVID-DETOUR questionnaire study

Christoph Ehlken et al. BMC Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Background: During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need of treatment of urgent ophthalmological diseases and the possible risk of a SARS-CoV-2 infection had to be weighed against each other. In this questionnaire study, we aimed to analyze potential barriers and patients' health beliefs during and after the lockdown early 2020 in a tertiary referral center in Kiel, Germany.

Methods: Patients admitted for the treatment of urgent ophthalmic diseases between March 1st, 2020, and June 3rd, 2020, were asked to participate in a questionnaire study. After informed consent was obtained, patients were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire which addressed aspects of their medical history, their health beliefs concerning the COVID-19 pandemic and barriers on their way to the treatment center. The study group was subdivided into two subgroups, depending on the occurrence of their symptoms, before and after the lockdown was ended on April 20th, 2020.

Results: Ninety-three patients were included, 43 in subgroup A (before April 20th) and 50 in subgroup B (April 20th or later). Retinal disorders were the most common causes for admission (approximately 60%).. Only 8 patients (8.6%) experienced a delay between their decision to visit a doctor until the actual examination. Every fourth patient was afraid of a COVID-19 infection, and expected a higher likelihood for an infection at the hospital. Patients with comorbidities tended to be more likely to be afraid of an infection (correlation coefficient 0.183, p = 0.0785) and were significantly more likely to be concerned about problems with organizing follow-up care (corr. Coefficient 0.222, p = 0.0328). Higher age was negatively correlated with fear of infection (corr. Coefficient - 0.218, p-value 0.034).

Conclusion: In this questionnaire study, only a minority of patients indicated a delay in treatment, regardless of whether symptoms occurred before or after the lockdown before April 20th, 2020. While patients with comorbidities were more concerned about infection and problems during follow-up care, patients of higher age - who have a higher mortality - were less afraid. Protection of high-risk groups should be prioritized during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Trial registration: The study was registered as DRKS00021630 at the DRKS (Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien) before the conduction of the study on May 5th, 2020.

Keywords: COVID; Delay in treatment; Emergency; Pandemic.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

CE received fees for advisory boards by Bayer Vital GmbH and presentation fees by Allergan GmbH, non of which interfere with the conception, conduction or analysis of the presented study. CM, ML, AK and JR declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Subjective evaluation of barriers during SARS-CoV2 pandemic
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Immovilli P, Morelli N, Antonucci E, Radaelli G, Barbera M, Guidetti D. COVID-19 mortality and ICU admission: the Italian experience. Crit Care. 2020;24(1):228. doi: 10.1186/s13054-020-02957-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Carenzo L, Costantini E, Greco M, Barra FL, Rendiniello V, Mainetti M. Hospital surge capacity in a tertiary emergency referral Centre during the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy. Anaesthesia. 2020;75(7):928–934. doi: 10.1111/anae.15072. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Korobelnik J-F, Loewenstein A, Eldem B, Joussen AM, Koh A, Lambrou GN. Guidance for anti-VEGF intravitreal injections during the COVID-19 pandemic. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2020;258(6):1149–1156. doi: 10.1007/s00417-020-04703-x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Siedlecki J, Brantl V, Schworm B, Mayer WJ, Gerhardt M, Michalakis S. COVID-19: ophthalmological aspects of the SARS-CoV 2 global pandemic. Klin Monatsblätter Für Augenheilkd. 2020;237(05):675–680. doi: 10.1055/a-1164-9381. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hattenbach L, Heinz P, Feltgen N, Hoerauf H, Kohnen T, Priglinger S. Auswirkungen der SARS-CoV-2-Pandemie auf die ophthalmologische Versorgung in Deutschland. Ophthalmology. 2020;117(9):892–904. doi: 10.1007/s00347-020-01220-4. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types