Early-Phase Perceptions of COVID-19's Impact on Ophthalmology Practice Patterns: A Survey from the Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology

Francisco Javier Bonilla-Escobar^#^{1

2

3}, Daniel Sánchez-Cano^#¹, Andres F Lasave⁴, Jaime Soria⁵, Valentina Franco-Cárdenas⁶, Victor E Reviglio⁷, Paulo E C Dantas⁸, Claudia Palacio Pastrana⁹, Juan Carlos Corbera¹⁰, Rita Yee Chan¹¹, Alberto Luis Diaz¹², Milton Garcia Hernandez¹³, Mauricio Maia¹⁴, Cristian Carpentier¹⁵, Lihteh Wu¹⁶, Martin Sanchez¹⁷, Marcelo Murillo Sasamoto¹⁸, Gonzalo Murillo Azcárraga¹⁸, Jose A Roca¹⁹, Martin A Serrano²⁰, Arturo A Alezzandrini²¹, Juan Gonzalo Sanchez Montoya²², Gregorio Gabela²³, Gerardo Garcia-Aguirre²⁴, J Fernando Arevalo^#²⁵

Affiliations

¹ Fundación Somos Ciencia al Servicio de la Comunidad, Fundación SCISCO/Science to Serve the Community Foundation, SCISCO Foundation, Cali, Colombia.
² Ophthalmology Department, Institute for Clinical Research Education, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
³ Vision y Salud Ocular, VISOC, Ophthalmology Department, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia.
⁴ The Retina and Vitreous Department, Private Eyes Clinic, Mar del Plata, Argentina.
⁵ Ophthalmology Department, Clínica Real Visión, Uniofken, CIVE y Funcrisa, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
⁶ Ophthalmology Department, Sanatorio Oftalmológico Mérida, Mexico City, Mexico.
⁷ Ophthalmology Department, Instituto de la Visión Cerro, Sanatorio Allende Cerro & Universidad Católica de Córdoba, Health Science Faculty, Cordoba, Argentina.
⁸ Ophthalmology Department, Sorocaba Eye Bank Hospital, Sorocaba, Brazil.
⁹ Department of Microsurgery of the Anterior Segment, Fundación Hospital Nuestra Señora de la Luz IAP, Mexico City, Mexico.
¹⁰ Ophthalmology Department, Oftalmica Clinica de la Vision, Lima, Peru.
¹¹ Ophthalmology Department, Clinica Nacional de Oftalmologia, Panama City, Panama.
¹² Ophthalmology Department, Complejo Medico FOSCAL Internacional, Floridablanca, Santander, Colombia.
¹³ Ophthalmology Department, Private Practice, El Salvador, El Salvador.
¹⁴ Ophthalmology Department, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
¹⁵ Ophthalmology Department, Fundación Oftalmológica Los Andes, Santiago, Chile.
¹⁶ Retina Department, Asociados de Macula Vitreo y Retina de Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica.
¹⁷ Ophthalmology Department, Hospital de Minas, Montevideo, Uruguay.
¹⁸ Ophthalmology Department, Instituto Privado de Oftalmología, La Paz, Bolivia.
¹⁹ Ophthalmology Department, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
²⁰ Retina Department, Centro Médico Docente La Trinidad, Caracas, Venezuela.
²¹ Ophthalmology Department, OFTALMOS, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Medicina, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
²² Ophthalmology Department, Instituto Nacional de Investigacion en Oftalmologia -INIO and Clinica Oftalmologica de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia.
²³ Ophthalmology Department, Hospital Metropolitano, Quito, Ecuador.
²⁴ Retina Department, School of Medicine, Tecnológico de Monterrey Asociación Para Evitar la Ceguera en México, Mexico City, Mexico.
²⁵ Ophthalmology Department, Johns Hopkins University, Wilmer Eye Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 37927574
PMCID: PMC10625333
DOI: 10.2147/OPTH.S434776

Early-Phase Perceptions of COVID-19's Impact on Ophthalmology Practice Patterns: A Survey from the Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology

Francisco Javier Bonilla-Escobar et al. Clin Ophthalmol. 2023.

. 2023 Oct 31:17:3249-3259.

doi: 10.2147/OPTH.S434776. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Fundación Somos Ciencia al Servicio de la Comunidad, Fundación SCISCO/Science to Serve the Community Foundation, SCISCO Foundation, Cali, Colombia.
² Ophthalmology Department, Institute for Clinical Research Education, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
³ Vision y Salud Ocular, VISOC, Ophthalmology Department, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia.
⁴ The Retina and Vitreous Department, Private Eyes Clinic, Mar del Plata, Argentina.
⁵ Ophthalmology Department, Clínica Real Visión, Uniofken, CIVE y Funcrisa, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
⁶ Ophthalmology Department, Sanatorio Oftalmológico Mérida, Mexico City, Mexico.
⁷ Ophthalmology Department, Instituto de la Visión Cerro, Sanatorio Allende Cerro & Universidad Católica de Córdoba, Health Science Faculty, Cordoba, Argentina.
⁸ Ophthalmology Department, Sorocaba Eye Bank Hospital, Sorocaba, Brazil.
⁹ Department of Microsurgery of the Anterior Segment, Fundación Hospital Nuestra Señora de la Luz IAP, Mexico City, Mexico.
¹⁰ Ophthalmology Department, Oftalmica Clinica de la Vision, Lima, Peru.
¹¹ Ophthalmology Department, Clinica Nacional de Oftalmologia, Panama City, Panama.
¹² Ophthalmology Department, Complejo Medico FOSCAL Internacional, Floridablanca, Santander, Colombia.
¹³ Ophthalmology Department, Private Practice, El Salvador, El Salvador.
¹⁴ Ophthalmology Department, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
¹⁵ Ophthalmology Department, Fundación Oftalmológica Los Andes, Santiago, Chile.
¹⁶ Retina Department, Asociados de Macula Vitreo y Retina de Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica.
¹⁷ Ophthalmology Department, Hospital de Minas, Montevideo, Uruguay.
¹⁸ Ophthalmology Department, Instituto Privado de Oftalmología, La Paz, Bolivia.
¹⁹ Ophthalmology Department, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
²⁰ Retina Department, Centro Médico Docente La Trinidad, Caracas, Venezuela.
²¹ Ophthalmology Department, OFTALMOS, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Medicina, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
²² Ophthalmology Department, Instituto Nacional de Investigacion en Oftalmologia -INIO and Clinica Oftalmologica de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia.
²³ Ophthalmology Department, Hospital Metropolitano, Quito, Ecuador.
²⁴ Retina Department, School of Medicine, Tecnológico de Monterrey Asociación Para Evitar la Ceguera en México, Mexico City, Mexico.
²⁵ Ophthalmology Department, Johns Hopkins University, Wilmer Eye Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 37927574
PMCID: PMC10625333
DOI: 10.2147/OPTH.S434776

Abstract

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic affected medical practice worldwide due to interventions to prevent spreading. Its effect on ophthalmology practices in Latin America has not yet been explored. We aimed to assess the perceptions about the pandemic from countries' ophthalmological national and subspecialty retina societies affiliated to the Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology (PAAO).

Patients and methods: A survey-based study of leaders of national ophthalmological and retinal societies was conducted. The survey was sent by email to 30 societies, from which 20 responded (12 countries, 66.6% response rate). It included closed- and open-ended questions about (1) operational capacity and precautions, (2) telemedicine and virtual care, (3) procedures, and (4) post-pandemic considerations.

Results: There was a marked decline in ophthalmology patient visits (80-95%) and elective surgeries (90%) during 2020 compared to before the pandemic. Precautions like temperature checks, mask usage, and social distancing were widely implemented while personal protective equipment (PPE) availability varied. Telemedicine use was limited due to lack of experience with it. Reopening plans focused on maintaining precautions and gradually resuming activities. Economic and security concerns were raised, and adherence to guidelines was emphasized. Respondents acknowledged the need to adapt to a "new normal". Long duration drugs, fewer imaging studies, and shorter wait times were preferred; however, availability of long duration drugs was limited.

Conclusion: The pandemic impacted ophthalmology in Latin America, with reduced patient visits, procedures, and surgeries. Delayed treatment and complications were likely the result of the pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; international agencies; medical societies; ophthalmology; pandemics; retina.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Dr Gerardo Garcia-Aguirre reports grants/personal fees and/or non-financial support from Alcon, AbbVie/Allergan, Bayer, Heidelberg Engineering, Nidek, Novartis, Roche Genentech, and Zeiss, outside the submitted work. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

**Figure 1**
Confirmed Covid Cases Geographic Distribution of Responding National Ophthalmological and Retina Societies.2020, America.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Early-Phase Perceptions of COVID-19's Impact on Ophthalmology Practice Patterns: A Survey from the Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology

Affiliations

Early-Phase Perceptions of COVID-19's Impact on Ophthalmology Practice Patterns: A Survey from the Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources