Syed Amjad Ali Omar, Jahan Saulat, Aldahlawi Alaa Ali, Alghazzawi Eihab Ali
Ophthalmology Department, King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Ministry of Health, Buraidah, Qassim, Saudi Arabia.
Research & Innovation Unit, Family Medicine Academy, Buraidah, Qassim, Saudi Arabia.
Clin Ophthalmol. 2021 Mar 23;15:1267-1275. doi: 10.2147/OPTH.S295730. eCollection 2021.
To explore ophthalmologists' preventive practices, and their perceived seriousness and perceived risk of transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
In a cross-sectional study, a semi-structured questionnaire was distributed online among ophthalmologists. Questions about COVID-19 infection, perceived seriousness, perceived risk of transmission, and recommended COVID-19 preventive practices were asked. Based on the adoption of a preventive measure and its frequency, a maximum preventive score of 25 was computed.
Among 126 respondents, the mean±SD age was 45.3±10.9 years, and 57.9% worked in a tertiary care hospital. Regarding preventive practices, 96.8% of ophthalmologists wore face masks, 89.6% avoided talking during the slit lamp examination, and 72.2% wore gloves during the ophthalmic examination. Availability of plastic barriers and regular disinfection of slit lamps were reported by 78.6% and 43.7% of ophthalmologists, respectively. The mean preventive score increased with increasing age (=0.001), and was higher for males (18.96±4.60) compared to females (17.81±4.96). The mean score for perceived severity was higher (<0.0001) among ophthalmologists with more than 10 years of experience (8.76±1.58) than those with experience of 10 years or less (7.49±1.86). Out of 29 ophthalmologists who had been tested for COVID-19, 11 were found to be positive, giving an overall incidence of COVID-19 infection of 8.7%.
The ophthalmologists were generally compliant with recommended preventive measures. Some preventive measures, such as the wearing of gloves and regular disinfection of slit lamps, need improvement. We recommend creating awareness of and monitoring for COVID-19 infection control measures in healthcare settings.
探讨眼科医生的预防措施，以及他们对2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）传播的感知严重性和感知风险。
在一项横断面研究中，通过在线方式向眼科医生发放半结构化问卷。询问了有关COVID-19感染、感知严重性、传播感知风险以及推荐的COVID-19预防措施等问题。根据预防措施的采用情况及其频率，计算出最高预防得分为25分。
在126名受访者中，平均年龄±标准差为45.3±10.9岁，57.9%在三级护理医院工作。关于预防措施，96.8%的眼科医生佩戴口罩，89.6%在裂隙灯检查期间避免交谈，72.2%在眼科检查期间戴手套。分别有78.6%和43.7%的眼科医生报告有塑料屏障和裂隙灯的定期消毒。预防平均分随年龄增长而增加（=0.001），男性（18.96±4.60）的平均分高于女性（17.81±4.96）。经验超过10年的眼科医生（8.76±1.58）对感知严重性的平均分高于经验10年或以下的医生（7.49±1.86）（<0.0001）。在29名接受过COVID-19检测的眼科医生中，11人检测呈阳性，COVID-19感染的总体发生率为8.7%。
眼科医生总体上遵守推荐的预防措施。一些预防措施，如戴手套和裂隙灯的定期消毒，需要改进。我们建议在医疗机构中提高对COVID-19感染控制措施的认识并进行监测。
