Intermediate outcomes of therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty for severe microbial keratitis using glycerol-preserved donor corneas during the COVID-19 pandemic

Roy, Aravind; Kamra, Dhruv; Murthy, Somasheila I; Mohamed, Ashik; Chaurasia, Sunita; Fernandes, Merle; Das, Sujata; Sharma, Savitri

doi:10.4103/ijo.ijo_1183_21

Cited by 6 publications

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

Challenges in management of microbial keratitis during COVID-19 pandemic related lockdown: a comparative analysis with pre pandemic data

Roy¹,

Kanhere²,

Rajarajan³

et al. 2022

Int Ophthalmol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose To study the challenges of managing microbial keratitis(MK) during the COVID19 pandemic related lockdown and assess the outcomes of treatment at a tertiary cornea service. Methods Retrospective, non comparative study of electronic medical records of MK presenting to a network of four tertiary care cornea services. The medical history, presenting clinical features, microbiology work up and treatment outcomes were analyzed. The primary outcome measure was final outcome at last follow up. Secondary outcomes measures were non-compliance to treatment due to travel restrictions, therapeutic PKP not done due non availability of corneal tissues. Results- MK was noted in 330 eyes of 330 patients between April and May 2020. Of these 237(71.8%) were males. Median age was 45 years(IQR, 33-56). Low socioeconomic status noted in 102(30.9%). Patients travelling beyond the district from where the hospital was located comprised of 64.9%(n=214). At a median follow up of 32 days(IQR, 9-54), 118(35.8%) patients had resolved, with medical management, 73(22.1%) patients were under active treatment, 139(42.1%) were lost to follow up. Sixty-six patients(20%) were non-compliant to treatment of which 59 could not follow appointment schedule due to travel restrictions. Therapeutic PKP (TPK) was planned in 48/128 (37.5%) patients, but was performed in only 34/48 (70.8%) due to non-availability of donor corneas. Conclusions Abnormal social circumstances due to the COVID pandemic and the ensuing impediments to travel for access to health care affected compliance to treatment of ocular emergencies such as microbial keratitis.

show abstract

Challenges in management of microbial keratitis during COVID-19 pandemic related lockdown: a comparative analysis with pre pandemic data

Roy¹,

Kanhere²,

Rajarajan³

et al. 2022

Int Ophthalmol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Eye Care in the Low Resource Setting

Hashimoto

Waldman

2022

Advances in Medical Education, Research, and Ethics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Within ophthalmology, focus is ever increasing on global trends in ocular care and socioeconomic determinants of vision outcomes. Worldwide, uncorrected refractive error and cataract continue to disproportionately affect persons in low-income and middle-income countries. Increasingly, smartphone technology and artificial intelligence are impacting screening and analysis of patients with suspected conditions such as strabismus, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma. Building upon large-scale treatment strategies, management of leading infectious ocular conditions worldwide, such as trachoma and onchocerciasis, has yielded remarkable improvements in community health. In terms of pediatric conditions, the world is currently experiencing a “third wave” of retinopathy of prematurity, whereas retinoblastoma continues to demonstrate differences in both vision outcomes and overall survival between patients in low-income and high-income countries. Finally, many conditions which do not threaten vision remain major reasons for patients to seek care in countries of any income status.

show abstract

Immediate impact of COVID-19 on eye banking in India

Nathawat¹,

Sharma²,

Sachdev

et al. 2021

Indian Journal of Ophthalmology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose: In India, COVID-19 infected more than 10 million and caused more than 148,000 fatalities during 2020. Due to “lockdown” eye banks were shuttered in March, 2020 and reopened for operations in the month of May, 2020. This study assesses the immediate impact of the pandemic on eye banking and cornea transplantation in India. Methods: Data was gathered through an online survey of the eye banks and cornea surgeons in India. The questionnaire collected information on the vital statistics of eye bank operations and cornea transplants for the period from March to June for the years 2019 and 2020. Results: 47 eye banks responded to the survey. Collectively in the March–May 2020 period, corneas collected and transplanted declined by 78.27% and 79.14%, respectively, compared to the same period of 2019. In June 2020, the first full month after operations restarted, the collection and transplants were respectively, 82.10% and 81.82%, lower than June, 2019. Long-term glycerine preservation of corneas in the period from March to June 2020 increased by 124.5% compared to same period in 2019, but overall only 5.26% of the corneas recovered were preserved in this way. 44.44% of the eye banks collected corneas only from donors with negative COVID-19 diagnosis. 36.11% of the respondents rejected all suspicious cases, such as donors with respiratory pathologies, and 2.78% of the respondents accepted donations from medico legal cases only. 19.44% of the responding eye banks did SARS-CoV-2 nasal swab test for the deceased donor. 79.5% of the eye banks reported that staff were willing to work during the pandemic, and 82.05% eye banks gave special training to staff before restarting services. Conclusion: Due to the steep decline in collections and transplants, 2020 can be termed as a lost year in Indian eye banking. Attention to Hospital Cornea Recovery Programs, continuous situation monitoring, and ongoing staff training programs are recommended.

show abstract

Intermediate outcomes of therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty for severe microbial keratitis using glycerol-preserved donor corneas during the COVID-19 pandemic

Cited by 6 publications

References 13 publications

Challenges in management of microbial keratitis during COVID-19 pandemic related lockdown: a comparative analysis with pre pandemic data

Challenges in management of microbial keratitis during COVID-19 pandemic related lockdown: a comparative analysis with pre pandemic data

Eye Care in the Low Resource Setting

Immediate impact of COVID-19 on eye banking in India

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About