The Role and Views of Ophthalmologists During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Purpose

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic forced ophthalmologists to adjust their working conditions to ensure patient and staff safety, while still providing effective and timely treatment. This international survey among ophthalmologists was initiated to capture what actions ophthalmologists were taking and what their opinions were on the risks of infection in their workplace, the delay in treatment, the use of telemedicine and telephone for appointments, and the regional specifications and measures implemented by the respective authorities.

Methods

An open-source web tool was used to develop an online survey, to which ophthalmologists worldwide were invited via e-mail using international mailing lists (Media Mice, Singapore; Texere Publishing Inc, USA; CGO Gerling) and incentivized using a lottery. The physicians provided their level of agreement relating to the offered statements and gave free answers to the questions regarding the actions taken (conducted November 5th 2020 to December 20th 2020).

Results

After 91,000 invitations, responses were collected from 1122 ophthalmologists. Despite the use of large international mailing lists, mainly doctors from Europe participated. Half of the participants expressed great concern about possible SARS-CoV-2 infection in their patients. A significant number of younger ophthalmologists (≤50 years: 76.9%, n = 313; >50 years: 69.6%, n = 181) feared the delays that COVID-19 could cause to treatment. Reductions in patient numbers were broadly observed, with more ophthalmologists of younger age reporting greater declines. Nearly all ophthalmologists indicated that they provided disinfectant and the majority also used masks and questionnaires for screening. For 60.3% (n = 412) of ophthalmologists, telephone calls reduced the risk of ‘no-shows’; 71.6% (n = 497) disagreed that telemedical evaluation is possible without slit lamp findings and fundus photos; and 57.0% of participants felt content with the governmental measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly influenced the work of ophthalmologists. Based on the limited response rate, certain statements were only possible to evaluate for the European Union: with a noticeable reduction in patient numbers, delay in treatment was a major worry. Measures to protect and reassure patients should be undertaken, especially regarding those with vision-threatening diseases requiring treatment.

Keywords:

• COVID-19
• survey
• infection control
• occupational safety

Data Sharing Statement

All relevant data are included in the article. The datasets used and/or analyzed during the present study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Ethical Approval and Informed Consent

In accordance with the requirements and in consultations with the local ethics committee of Eberhard Karl University Tübingen, there was no need to obtain any ethical approval in advance of the survey. Only anonymous data from voluntary participants were analyzed.

Consent for Publication

By participating, participants consented to the analysis of anonymous data.

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank Irina Stingl for support with the graphical representation of this survey.

Disclosure

Focke Ziemssen has received speaker fees and consultation honoraria from Allergan/AbbVie, Alimera, Bayer, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Oxurion, NovoNordisk, and Roche/Genentech, and grants and personal fees from Novartis, but none of the topics were related to this survey. The authors declare that they have no other potential conflicts of interest related to this work.

Additional information

Funding

The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work. The work was funded without commercial support by the authors.