Safety and Efficacy of Cataract Surgery Under a Local Infection Control Protocol Before and During a COVID-19 Wave in Thailand for Healthcare Workers and Patients: A Prospective Cohort from a Secondary Center

Figures & data

Figure 1 Trends in the volume of cataract surgeries performed according to the Thai national data before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Large arrow: lockdown phase. Small arrow: after lockdown was lifted. Chevron: start of the second wave.

Figure 2 Trends in cataract surgery performed during the study period as compared to the pre-pandemic volume. Large arrow: lockdown phase. Small arrow: after lockdown was lifted. Chevron: start of the second wave.

Figure 3 Flow diagram of patients who underwent cataract surgery during the study period.

Table 1 Best-Corrected Visual Acuity Outcome from COVID-19 Pandemic Period and Pre-COVID-19 Pandemic Period

	COVID-19 Pandemic (n = 813)	Pre-COVID-19 Pandemic (n = 291)
Pre-surgery BCVA (median, IQR)	1.12 (1.12, 1.6)	1.3 (1.12, 1.98)
Post-surgery BCVA (median, IQR)	0.3 (0.18, 0.4)	0.4 (0.18, 0.54)
BCVA improvement (median difference, 95% confidence interval)	−0.94 (−0.98 to −0.94), p < 0.0001	−1.06 (−1.12 to −0.94), p < 0.0001

Abbreviations: BCVA, best-corrected visual acuity; IQR, interquartile range.

Figure 4 (A) Comparison of baseline best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and postoperative BCVA between the pre-COVID-19 period and during the COVID-19 pandemic. (B) Comparison of the median difference between pre- and postoperative BCVA between the pre-COVID-19 period and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Triangle: pre-COVID-19 pandemic. Circle: COVID-19 pandemic. Asterisk: p<0.0001.

Abbreviation: ns, not significant.