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

aime Soria,⁵ Valentina Franco-Cárdenas,⁶ Victor E Reviglio,⁷ Paulo EC Dantas,⁸ Claudia Palacio Pastrana,⁹ Juan Carlos Corbera,¹⁰ Rita Yee Chan,¹¹ Alberto Luis Diaz,¹² Milton Garcia Hernandez,¹³ Mauricio Maia,¹⁴ Cristian Carpentier,¹⁵ Lihteh Wu,¹⁶ Martin Sanchez,¹⁷ Marcelo Murillo Sasamoto,¹⁸ Gonzalo Murillo Azcárraga,¹⁸ Jose A Roca,¹⁹ Martin A Serrano,²⁰ Arturo A Alezzandrini,²¹ Juan Gonzalo Sanchez Montoya,²² Gregorio Gabela,²³ Gerardo Garcia-Aguirre,²⁴ J Fernando Arevalo^25,*1Fundación Somos Ciencia al Servicio de la Comunidad, Fundación SCISCO/Science to Serve the Community Foundation, SCISCO Foundation, Cali, Colombia; ²Ophthalmology Department, Institute for Clinical Research Education, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; ³Vision y Salud Ocular, VISOC, Ophthalmology Department, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia; ⁴The Retina and Vitreous Department, Private Eyes Clinic, Mar del Plata, Argentina; ⁵Ophthalmology Department, Clínica Real Visión, Uniofken, CIVE y Funcrisa, Guayaquil, Ecuador; ⁶Ophthalmology Department, Sanatorio Oftalmológico Mérida, Mexico City, Mexico; ⁷Ophthalmology Department, Instituto de la Visión Cerro, Sanatorio Allende Cerro & Universidad Católica de Córdoba, Health Science Faculty, Cordoba, Argentina; ⁸Ophthalmology Department, Sorocaba Eye Bank Hospital, Sorocaba, Brazil; ⁹Department of Microsurgery of the Anterior Segment, Fundación Hospital Nuestra Señora de la Luz IAP, Mexico City, Mexico; ¹⁰Ophthalmology Department, Oftalmica Clinica de la Vision, Lima, Peru; ¹¹Ophthalmology Department, Clinica Nacional de Oftalmologia, Panama City, Panama; ¹²Ophthalmology Department, Complejo Medico FOSCAL Internacional, Floridablanca, Santander, Colombia; ¹³Ophthalmology Department, Private Practice, El Salvador, El Salvador; ¹⁴Ophthalmology Department, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil; ¹⁵Ophthalmology Department, Fundación Oftalmológica Los Andes, Santiago, Chile; ¹⁶Retina Department, Asociados de Macula Vitreo y Retina de Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica; ¹⁷Ophthalmology Department, Hospital de Minas, Montevideo, Uruguay; ¹⁸Ophthalmology Department, Instituto Privado de Oftalmología, La Paz, Bolivia; ¹⁹Ophthalmology Department, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru; ²⁰Retina Department, Centro Médico Docente La Trinidad, Caracas, Venezuela; ²¹Ophthalmology Department, OFTALMOS, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Medicina, Buenos Aires, Argentina; ²²Ophthalmology Department, Instituto Nacional de Investigacion en Oftalmologia –INIO and Clinica Oftalmologica de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia; ²³Ophthalmology Department, Hospital Metropolitano, Quito, Ecuador; ²⁴Retina Department, School of Medicine, Tecnológico de Monterrey Asociación Para Evitar la Ceguera en México, Mexico City, Mexico; ²⁵Ophthalmology Department, Johns Hopkins University, Wilmer Eye Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: J Fernando Arevalo, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Maumenee 713, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA, Email [email protected] 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]