{"title":"The effect of COVID-19 on referral patterns for clinical electrophysiological testing.","authors":"Michael E Grinton, Peng Yan, Tom Wright","doi":"10.1007/s10633-022-09908-5","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>To provide an overview of the effect that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on visual electrophysiology referral patterns and the subsequent effect this may have on patients.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>All electrodiagnostic tests performed at Kensington Vision and Research Centre, Toronto Canada, in a 3-month period prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (1 September 2019 to 30 November 2019) were compared to a 3-month period after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (1 September 2021 to 30 November 2021).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 502 patients had electrodiagnostic testing carried out in the designated time periods: 292 in the time period prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and 210 patients after. There was a significant change in the reason for referral in patients pre-COVID compared to post-COVID (p = 0.004). There was a 43% reduction in referrals for drug monitoring, 25% reduction for hereditary pathology and a 27% increase in acquired pathology after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to before.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>There was a substantial decrease in the total number of patients referred after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to pre-COVID with inherited retinal pathology and drug monitoring patients being 2 populations most affected by the disruption to healthcare services.</p>","PeriodicalId":11207,"journal":{"name":"Documenta Ophthalmologica","volume":"146 1","pages":"3-6"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2023-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9734301/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Documenta Ophthalmologica","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-022-09908-5","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"OPHTHALMOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Purpose: To provide an overview of the effect that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on visual electrophysiology referral patterns and the subsequent effect this may have on patients.
Methods: All electrodiagnostic tests performed at Kensington Vision and Research Centre, Toronto Canada, in a 3-month period prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (1 September 2019 to 30 November 2019) were compared to a 3-month period after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (1 September 2021 to 30 November 2021).
Results: A total of 502 patients had electrodiagnostic testing carried out in the designated time periods: 292 in the time period prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and 210 patients after. There was a significant change in the reason for referral in patients pre-COVID compared to post-COVID (p = 0.004). There was a 43% reduction in referrals for drug monitoring, 25% reduction for hereditary pathology and a 27% increase in acquired pathology after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to before.
Conclusions: There was a substantial decrease in the total number of patients referred after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to pre-COVID with inherited retinal pathology and drug monitoring patients being 2 populations most affected by the disruption to healthcare services.
期刊介绍:
Documenta Ophthalmologica is an official publication of the International Society for Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision. The purpose of the journal is to promote the understanding and application of clinical electrophysiology of vision. Documenta Ophthalmologica will publish reviews, research articles, technical notes, brief reports and case studies which inform the readers about basic and clinical sciences related to visual electrodiagnosis and means to improve diagnosis and clinical management of patients using visual electrophysiology. Studies may involve animals or humans. In either case appropriate care must be taken to follow the Declaration of Helsinki for human subject or appropriate humane standards of animal care (e.g., the ARVO standards on Animal Care and Use).