Visual acuity in endophthalmitis worse at presentation during pandemic vs. before pandemic
NEW YORK — Patients with endophthalmitis had worse visual acuity at presentation during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with patients who presented before the pandemic.
“The initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic drastically impacted ophthalmology patient care, including when patients presented for vision-threatening conditions, such as
endophthalmitis,” Blake H. Fortes, MD, and colleagues wrote in a poster at the American Society of Retina Specialists annual meeting.
Twenty-eight patients with endophthalmitis were included in a multicenter retrospective case series that evaluated clinical characteristics and visual acuity outcomes. Eighteen patients presented before the pandemic between March 1, 2019, and Sept. 1, 2019, and 10 patients presented during the pandemic between March 1, 2020, and Sept. 1, 2020.
Mean logMAR visual acuity at presentation was worse in the pandemic group (2.44; count fingers) compared with the pre-pandemic group (1.82; 20/1321) (P = .026). However, there was no statistical difference in visual acuity at the last follow-up between the pre-pandemic group (0.87; 20/148) and the pandemic group (1.25; 20/355).
The authors suggested that small delays in endophthalmitis therapy due to the pandemic did not affect final visual acuity outcomes.
“Our findings support our hypothesis that the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic led to delayed presentation of endophthalmitis with worse visual acuity at presentation compared to cases that presented prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the authors wrote.
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Fortes BH, et al. Clinical characteristics of endophthalmitis pre-COVID-19 pandemic versus during the COVID-19 pandemic. Presented at: American Society of Retina Specialists annual meeting; July 13-16, 2022; New York.
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