Impact of COVID-19 on Ophthalmic Outpatient Services in An Eye Care Center in Southern Nigeria.

Osaguona, V B; Osahon, A I; Uhumwangho, O M

Background Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is a communicable disease and a global pandemic affecting different parts of the world including Nigeria. Measures to curb the spread of the causative virus included a nationwide lockdown. Aim The aim of this study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on ophthalmic outpatient services in an eye care center in Nigeria. Method The medical statistics for all persons attending the Ophthalmic Outpatient Clinic from January to August 2020 and January to August 2019 was obtained. The statistics for January to August 2020 was compared with that of the corresponding months in 2019 for outpatient clinic attendance, gender, and number of children and adults. Results In the 2019 study period, the total number of patients attending the Ophthalmic Outpatient Clinic was 16,189. There were 6788 males, 9401 females, 2963 children, and 13,226 adults. In similar months in 2020, the total number of patients was 8,735, of which 3,934 were males, 4801 females, 1651 children, and 7084 adults. There was an overall decline of 46% in the number of outpatient attendance in 2020. The decline was 76.3% in April 2020 (peak of the lockdown). There was a rebound in outpatient visits in July 2020 (when the interstate travel ban was lifted) to 4.9 times that of April 2020; however, this was 56.9% that of July of the preceding year. Conclusion COVID-19 pandemic impacted negatively on outpatient visits. A rebound in the number of visits was observed when the interstate travel ban was lifted, although far below the preceding year's value.