Evaluation of Patients Presenting to the Ophthalmology Department of a Tertiary Hospital for Nonemergency Reasons During the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Fatih, Aslan; A, Öktem Lar

OBJECTIVE To evaluate changes in the demographic and diagnostic distribution of patients presenting to the ophthalmology department during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to the pre-pandemic period. METHODS The study included patients who made outpatient appointments in our ophthalmology department. The COVID-19 group (CovG) comprised patients who presented between April 15 and May 15, 2020, the 30-day period with the highest daily number of new cases in Turkey. The control group (CG) was obtained by randomization through a computer program from among 2 245 patients who applied in the same period of the previous year. The patients presenting complaint(s), diagnostic(s) and demographic informations were collected from a database, with all identifying information concealed. For patients who presented more than once, their initial complaint and diagnoses were analyzed. RESULTS The study included a total of 400 patients: 200 in the CovG and 200 in the CG. Mean ages in the CovG and CG were 41.23±14.48 and 48.20±17.49 years, respectively (p.