ReviewSAGE open medicine2026
Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on surgical volume, clinical presentations, and management of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in SAGE open medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Purpose: To systematically evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly lockdown (LD) periods, on the incidence, clinical presentations, surgical management, and outcomes of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD). Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science up to June 2025. Observational studies comparing RRD patients during COVID-19 LDs or pandemic periods with pre-pandemic controls were included. Outcomes assessed included RRD incidence, baseline clinical characteristics, intervals from symptom onset to first visit and surgery, surgical interventions, and anatomical and visual outcomes. Meta-analyses were performed for comparable outcomes using random- or fixed-effects models based on heterogeneity. Results: Twenty-nine observational studies involving more than 116,000 eyes were included. COVID-19-related restrictions were associated with a significant reduction in RRD surgical volume (rate ratio 0.71; 95% CI: 0.60-0.84), although marked regional heterogeneity was observed. Marked heterogeneity across studies appeared to be partly related to differences in LD severity, duration, and regional healthcare system burden. Patients presenting during LD periods were significantly less likely to have macula-on RRD (OR = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.46-0.83) and more likely to exhibit moderate-to-severe proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) (OR = 2.58; 95% CI: 1.37-4.87) compared with pre-LD periods. Time from symptom onset to surgery increased during LD periods, while presentation-to-surgery intervals decreased. Surgical practice shifted toward greater use of pars plana vitrectomy (PPV), often combined with longer-acting gas tamponades or silicone oil. Despite increased disease severity, single-surgery retinal attachment rates and postoperative visual outcomes remained largely unchanged across periods. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic had substantial and region-specific effects on RRD management, influencing patient presentation patterns, disease severity, and surgical strategies. Nevertheless, adaptive healthcare responses helped preserve overall anatomical and visual outcomes.
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