Spektrum der Augenheilkunde最新文献

Background: Every year the Austrian Commission for Cataract Surgery and Intraocular Implants, conducts a national survey of all eye surgery departments in Austria.

Material and methods: The questionnaires were sent to departments of ophthalmology in Austria and were anonymously returned either printed or via an online form. Before analyzing the results it is important to consider that participation was voluntary and compared to the data of previous years.

Results: The responses of 18 departments of ophthalmology with a total of 149 are presented in this publication and combined with data from previous years.The participation rate was 72.4% with a total of 52,059 cataract surgeries reported. Compared to the previous year this amounts to a decrease of 24.8%; however, this is most likely caused by restrictions of elective surgery in association with the SARS-CoV‑2 pandemic.

Background: Since the beginning of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there have been obstacles in the proper diagnosis and management of many diseases. We evaluated the changes in retinal detachment (RD) presentation and surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic and propose solutions to minimize the detrimental effects of lockdown on RD diagnosis.

Materials and methods: PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched for relevant articles with the keywords "Retinal detachment" AND "Coronavirus OR COVID-19 OR SARS OR MERS."

Results: The COVID-19 lockdown was associated a 53-66% reduction in RD presentation. The decrease in the rate of macula-on RD, the increase in the mean duration of symptoms, and the rise in the number of patients with proliferative vitreoretinopathy were all suggestive of a delayed presentation of RD. Moreover, a drop of 56-62% in RD repair surgeries was observed. However, the most frequently performed ophthalmic surgery changed from cataract surgery in April 2019 to RD repair in April 2020. Using phacovitrectomy instead of vitrectomy alone can reduce the number of operations in ophthalmology centers, decrease the use of personal protective equipment by 50%, and cut costs per patient by 17-20%. Also, developing a well-organized telemedicine system can decrease unnecessary visits and delayed presentations.

Conclusion: Delay in RD presentation and surgery is associated with a poorer prognosis. Optimizing the guidelines of RD management and developing a well-organized telemedicine system can minimize the impact of lockdown on RD management.

Background: Every year the Austrian Committee for Cataract Surgery and Intraocular Implants, conducts a national survey of all eye surgery departments in Austria.

Material and methods: The questionnaires were sent to departments of ophthalmology in Austria and were anonymously returned either in print or via an online form. Before analyzing results, it is important to consider that participation was voluntary and compared to the data of previous years.

Results: The responses of 19 departments of ophthalmology with a total of 182 surgeons are presented in this publication and compared with data from previous years.The participation rate was 79.1% and a total of 66 355 cataract surgeries were reported. There was a slight increase of day clinic surgeries compared to the previous year; however, the number of surgeries is still lower than before the start of the SARS-CoV‑2 pandemic.