OCULAR INJURY TREND IN COVID-19 ERA- A TERTIARY EYE CARE STUDY IN INDIA

Abstract

Aim- To study the change in demography and injury pattern of ocular trauma during the lockdown period tothat of a similar period of the previous year. Materials & Methods- This is a retrospective analysis of the data of 362 patients with ocular trauma during the lockdown period from 25 March 2020 to 3 May 2020 and during a similar period of the previous year at a tertiary eye care center in India. Results- There was a decrease of 62.87% of patients of ocular trauma during the lockdown period because of the restricted lifestyle. Although home related and violence-related trauma increased, there was a decrease in trafc and sports-related trauma. Patients with chemical injury by sodium hypochlorite also had a sharp rise. Majority of the patients presented after two days during this period. Conclusion- Guidelines for mass health education and awareness about the risk of ocular trauma, morbidity caused by delayed presentation, and need to adopt safety or preventive strategies should be formulated so that future strategy can be planned to ght with the next pandemic or epidemic.