Changing patterns of posterior segment trauma during the COVID-19 pandemic: A regional analysis from the Bodhya Eye Consortium

Abstract

Purpose: To assess changes in the presentation patterns of posterior segment trauma during the COVID-19 pandemic from six tertiary eye care institutes of North and Central India. Methods: A multicenter, hospital-based, retrospective comparative analysis of patients presenting with posterior segment trauma was done during the COVID-19 (Group A) (March 25, 2020 - September 30, 2020) period and the pre-COVID-19 (Group B) (March 25, 2019 - September 30, 2019) period. Results: A total of 405 patients were diagnosed with posterior segment trauma (Group A: 206, Group B: 199). The time interval between onset of trauma and presentation was higher in Group A (16.59 ± 29.87 days) as compared to Group B (9.41 ± 19.19 days) ( P = 0.004). A majority of patients in Group A had a history of prior consultation before presentation ( P = 0.049). In Group A, 120 (58.2%) patients sustained ocular trauma at home as compared to 80 (40.2%) patients in Group B ( P < 0.0001). Patients presenting with light perception were significantly more in Group A (43.7%) as compared to Group B (30.2%) ( P = 0.004). In Group B, 37.6% patients had presenting visual acuity of counting finger or better as compared to 27.6% patients in Group A ( P = 0.07). Patients in Group A had a significantly higher proportion of post-traumatic endophthalmitis with delayed presentation ( P = 0.011) and retinal detachment ( P = 0.041). Patients undergoing surgery for foreign-body removal were significantly fewer in Group A ( P = 0.05). Conclusion: Although the number of patients presenting with posterior segment trauma was comparable in Groups A and B, a greater number of patients sustained home injuries during the COVID-19 pandemic. A majority of these patients had delayed presentation with poor presenting visual acuity and a higher tendency of retinal detachment.

Harnessing Generalizable Real World Ophthalmic Big Data: A Descriptive Analysis of the Bodhya Eye Consortium Model for Collaborative Research (Preprint)

“…Furthermore, the use of proforma driven data recorded during consultations meant that although this was a retrospective study, the low (2%) patient exclusion rates, made the research valuable in the field, subverting the need for techniques to overcome data "missingness" [25]. Currently, there are almost thirty more studies underway, at various stages of the writing and submission process, with six already published, and two more accepted [11][12][13][14][15][16]. While at present the consortium is in a nascent stage and the impact of its research is being measured primarily thorugh publications, in the medium to long term, as we grow more impactful in terms of health policy and behaviour, we will expand our considerations to not only include impact factors but also other relevant factors.…”

“…Authors: Ishaana Sood, 1,13 Shalinder Sabherwal, 2,13 Umang Mathur, 3,13 Elesh Jain, 4,13 Madhu Bhadauria, 5,13 Deepshikha Agrawal, 6,13 Ashi Khurana, 7,13 Vikas Mittal, 8,13 Avinash Mahindrakar, 9,13 Vishal Govindahari, 10,13 Sucheta Kulkarni, 11,13 Ken K. Nischal 12,13 Affiliations:…”

“…The data that needed to excluded because of quality was less than 2%. Since then the collaborative efforts have led to the successful completion of various research projects based on retrospective and prospectively collected data: a further eight peer-reviewed studies have been published or accepted by international and national journals [11][12][13][14][15][16]. At present the consortium's research effectiveness is measured through its ability to publish such high-quality research.…”