COVID-19 pandemisinin Türkiye’de çocuk göz acil servisine baþvuran hastalarýn özelliklerine etkisi: Demografik özellikler ve tanýlar

AMAÇ: 2019 koronavirüs hastalýðý (COVID-19) pandemisinin Türkiye’de pediatrik oftalmoloji acil servisine (POAS) baþvuran hastalarýn demografik özelliklerini ve tanýlarýný nasýl etkilediðini deðerlendirmek.
GEREÇ VE YÖNTEM: 15 Mart–31 Mayýs 2020 (ilk evde kalma süresi) ve 15 Kasým–31 Aralýk 2020 (ikinci evde kalma süresi) arasýnda POAS’ye baþvuran 18 yaþýndan küçük hastalarýn elektronik týbbi kayýtlarý, geriye dönük olarak tarandý. Bu dönemlere ait demografik veriler ve klinik tanýlar 2019 yýlýnýn ayný dönemleriyle karþýlaþtýrýldý.
BULGULAR: Sekiz yüz otuz dokuz pediyatrik hastanýn dosyasý incelendiðinde POAS’yi 2019 yýlýnda ziyaret edenler (n=510) ile 2020 yýlýnda ziyaret edenler (n=329) arasýnda yaþ (p=.067) veya cinsiyet (p=.268) açýsýndan anlamlý bir fark bulunmadý. 2019 ile karþýlaþtýrýldýðýnda, ilk evde kalma döneminde (yani, 322’ye karþý 159) POAS’yi ziyaret eden hasta %50.63 daha az ve ikinci dönemde (yani, 188’e karþý 170) %9.66 daha az hasta ziyaret etti. 2019 ve 2020’deki tanýlar benzerdi; en sýk taný yabancý cisimdi ve ikinci en sýk taný oküler travmaydý.
TARTIÞMA: COVID-19 pandemisinin ortasýnda, fark ikinci dönemde daha az olmasýna raðmen, birinci ve ikinci evde kalýþ dönemlerinde 2019’un ayný dönemlerine göre daha az pediatrik hasta POED’yi ziyaret etti. Bununla birlikte, yýldan yýla demografik veriler ve teþhisler benzerdi. Bu bulgular, pandemiler gibi olaðanüstü durumlarda POAS yönetimi için yeni stratejiler ve kýlavuzlar geliþtirmede klinisyenlere yardýmcý olabilir.

The effect of COVID-19 pandemic on the characteristics of patients presenting to the pediatric ocular emergency department in Türkiye: Demographic and diagnoses

BACKGROUND: This study aims to evaluate how the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the demographics and diagnoses of patients presenting at a pediatric ophthalmology emergency department (POED) in Türkiye.
METHODS: The electronic medical records of patients <18 years old who presented at the POED from March 15 to May 31, 2020 (first stay-at-home period), and from November 15 to December 31, 2020 (second stay-at-home period), were retrospectively scanned. The demographic data and clinical diagnoses from those periods and the same periods in 2019 were compared.
RESULTS: No significant differences emerged regarding age (p=0.067) or sex (p=0.268) among the 839 pediatric patients who visited the POED in 2019 (n=510) versus 2020 (n=329). Compared with 2019, 50.63% of fewer patients visited the POED in the first stay-at-home period (i.e., 322 vs. 159) and 9.66% fewer visited in the second period (i.e., 188 vs. 170). The diagnoses in 2019 and 2020 were similar, with foreign body being the most common diagnosis, followed by ocular trauma.
CONCLUSION: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer pediatric patients visited the POED during the first and second stay-at-home periods than during the same periods in 2019, although the difference was less during the second period. Demographic data and diagnoses from year to year, however, were similar. These findings could aid clinicians in developing new strategies and guidelines for POED management in extraordinary situations such as pandemics.