Dr. SHIVKUMAR CHANDRASHEKHARAN

DR. MADHUMITA ROUT

Abstract

Aim: To assess the increase in advanced cataracts due to restrictions during the COVID pandemic

Material and Methods: The number of patients who underwent cataract surgery before (April 2019 to March 2020) and during COVID (April 2020 to March 2021) for advanced cataract (mature and hypermature cataracts) were compared. The data was obtained from the Quality Assurance software of our hospital.

Results: The number of patients undergoing cataract during the pandemic had reduced from 32,005 to 18,848 (41%) and 4521 patients (24%) had advanced cataract compared to 1673 (5.2%) before COVID, showing a 4.6 fold increase (p< 0.001) Discussion: Lack of timely access to eye care led to a significant increase in advanced cataracts presenting for surgery at our hospital during the pandemic. This may reflect an increase in the community at large Conclusion: An intensive community outreach strategy may be needed to tackle the possible increase in cataract blindness during and after COVID.