Koç University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, İstanbul, Turkey
Göznuru Eye Hospital, Gaziantep, Turkey
Turk J Ophthalmol. 2021 Oct 26;51(5):269-281. doi: 10.4274/tjo.galenos.2020.23169.
To investigate the effect of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the clinical practice of ophthalmologists in our country.
A questionnaire consisting of 22 questions was delivered to 250 ophthalmologists via e-mail and a smartphone messaging application. A total of 113 ophthalmologists completed the survey. The questions included the participants' demographic data (age, years in practice, institution, and city), changes in their working conditions and institutional preventive measures implemented during the pandemic, their personal COVID-19 experiences, the prevalence of telemedicine applications, and their attitudes toward these practices.
Nearly half (47.8%) of the 113 ophthalmologists were 36 to 45 years old. In terms of years in practice, the largest proportion of respondents (28.3%) had 6-10 years of experience. Most of the participants worked in private/foundation universities (37.2%), while 22.1% worked in education and research clinics. Participants working at public universities most often reported that they or a close contact had to work in COVID wards (89.5%). Triage was performed in 51.5% of ophthalmology outpatient clinics, with 88.0% of these participants reporting that patients with fever, cough, or dyspnea were directed to the pandemic clinic without ophthalmological examination. All participants working in public hospitals, education and research clinics, and public university hospitals had postponed elective surgeries, whereas 12.5% of those working in private practice and 20.5% of those working in private/foundation universities reported that they continued elective surgeries. While 80.8% of the participants did not conduct online interviews or examinations, 40.4% stated that they considered telemedicine applications beneficial. Seventy-seven percent of participants expressed concern about a decrease in their income during the pandemic, with this being especially common among participants working in private practice (87.5%) and private/foundation university hospitals (85.7%).
Ophthalmologists across our country have been affected by this pandemic at a level that will change their clinical approach. We think that ophthalmologists impacted by the difficulty of providing personal protective equipment and economic concerns should be supported more during the pandemic.
调查 2019 年新型冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行对我国眼科医生临床实践的影响。
通过电子邮件和智能手机消息应用程序向 250 名眼科医生发送了一份由 22 个问题组成的问卷。共有 113 名眼科医生完成了调查。问题包括参与者的人口统计学数据（年龄、从业年限、机构和城市）、大流行期间工作条件和机构预防措施的变化、个人 COVID-19 经历、远程医疗应用的流行程度以及他们对这些实践的态度。
113 名眼科医生中近一半（47.8%）年龄在 36 至 45 岁之间。就从业年限而言，最大比例的受访者（28.3%）有 6-10 年的经验。大多数参与者在私立/基金会大学工作（37.2%），而 22.1%在教育和研究诊所工作。在公立大学工作的参与者中，报告说他们或密切接触者必须在 COVID 病房工作的人数最多（89.5%）。在 51.5%的眼科门诊进行了分诊，其中 88.0%的参与者报告说，有发热、咳嗽或呼吸困难的患者未经眼科检查就被送往大流行诊所。所有在公立医院、教育和研究诊所以及公立大学医院工作的参与者都推迟了择期手术，而在私人诊所工作的参与者中有 12.5%和在私立/基金会大学工作的参与者中有 20.5%报告说他们继续进行择期手术。虽然 80.8%的参与者没有进行在线访谈或检查，但 40.4%的参与者表示他们认为远程医疗应用有益。77%的参与者表示担心大流行期间收入减少，在私人诊所工作的参与者（87.5%）和在私立/基金会大学医院工作的参与者（85.7%）中这种情况更为普遍。
我国的眼科医生受到了这场大流行的影响，这将改变他们的临床方法。我们认为，在大流行期间，应该为那些受到提供个人防护设备困难和经济问题影响的眼科医生提供更多支持。
