ArticleClinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.)2025
Microbial Keratitis Before, During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the Role of Contact Lens Wear and Hand Hygiene.
Article in Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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1 citing paper in PubMed.
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5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant decline in the number of patients with both non-urgent and urgent ophthalmologic conditions presenting to emergency departments, leading to concerns about the whereabouts of patients in need of care. We hypothesized that there was an actual decrease in microbial keratitis (MK) cases, due to reduced contact lens (CL) wear and improved hand hygiene, including alcohol-based hand disinfection. Besides, we questioned if non-pharmaceutical interventions would have a sustained effect after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Retrospectively, characteristics of patients presenting with MK at a large ophthalmic tertiary referral center were compared during 9 March-15 June of 2018 and 2019 ("pre-COVID"), 2020 ("COVID") and 2022 and 2023 ("post-COVID"). In an online cross-sectional survey among CL wearers, CL wear and hand hygiene habits were compared for the recall months February and April 2020. Results: Three hundred and one MK patients were included: 79 in 2018, 69 in 2019, 41 in 2020, 60 in 2022 and 52 in 2023. Presentation delay was ≥4 days in 38% during COVID, compared to 54% pre-COVID (p = 0.106). The proportion of CL related MK did not differ (p = 0.704). Fewer patients were admitted than pre-COVID (p = 0.026), without a difference in admission indications (p = 0.322). Conclusion: We found no evidence of MK patients facing barriers to accessing hospital care during the COVID-19 pandemic, as presentation delays were not longer and cases not more severe. Our data suggest that a decreased MK incidence may be due to improved hand hygiene practices, including alcohol-based hand disinfection.
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