Impact of COVID-19 on ophthalmic surgical procedures in sub-Saharan Africa: a multicentre study
Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on healthcare and ophthalmology services globally. Numerous studies amongst various medical and surgical specialties showed a reduction in patient attendance and surgical procedures performed. Prior published ophthalmic literature focus...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Tropical Medicine and Health |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-024-00589-1 |
| _version_ | 1797258983226998784 |
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| author | Naseer Ally Sarah Ismail Natasha Naidu Ismail Makda Ismail Mayet Michael E. Gyasi Peter Makafui Arlette Nomo Chantal Nanfack Anesu T. Madikane Walda D. Pohl Bayanda N. Mbambisa Jonathan T. Oettle Feyi Adepoju Toibat B. Tota-Bolarinwa Amelia Buque Sidonia J. N. Khalau Douglas Zirima Brian Takayidza Ugochukwu A. Eze Akinyemi Adedeji Frank Sandi Jacinta Feksi Ogugua Okonkwo Adekunle Hassan Nagib du Toit Shahlaa Petersen Caroline Tsimi Viola Dovoma Mustapha Bature Mohammed Adamu Suhanyah Okeke Ifeoma N. Asimadu Nkiru N. Kizor-Akaraiwe Chinyelu N. Ezisi Henry E. Nkumbe Tchoyou T. M. Olivier Hassan D. Alli |
| author_facet | Naseer Ally Sarah Ismail Natasha Naidu Ismail Makda Ismail Mayet Michael E. Gyasi Peter Makafui Arlette Nomo Chantal Nanfack Anesu T. Madikane Walda D. Pohl Bayanda N. Mbambisa Jonathan T. Oettle Feyi Adepoju Toibat B. Tota-Bolarinwa Amelia Buque Sidonia J. N. Khalau Douglas Zirima Brian Takayidza Ugochukwu A. Eze Akinyemi Adedeji Frank Sandi Jacinta Feksi Ogugua Okonkwo Adekunle Hassan Nagib du Toit Shahlaa Petersen Caroline Tsimi Viola Dovoma Mustapha Bature Mohammed Adamu Suhanyah Okeke Ifeoma N. Asimadu Nkiru N. Kizor-Akaraiwe Chinyelu N. Ezisi Henry E. Nkumbe Tchoyou T. M. Olivier Hassan D. Alli |
| author_sort | Naseer Ally |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on healthcare and ophthalmology services globally. Numerous studies amongst various medical and surgical specialties showed a reduction in patient attendance and surgical procedures performed. Prior published ophthalmic literature focused on specific types of procedures and were usually single centre. The current study attempts to quantify the impact on a larger scale, namely that of sub-Saharan Africa, and to include all ophthalmic subspecialties. Methods This is a retrospective analysis of the surgical records from 17 ophthalmology centres in seven countries located in East, Central, West and Southern Africa. The date of declaration of the first lockdown was used as the beginning of the pandemic and the pivot point to compare theatre records one year prior to the pandemic and the first year of the pandemic. We examined the total number of surgical procedures over the two year period and categorized them according to ophthalmic subspecialty and type of procedure performed. We then compared the pre-pandemic and pandemic surgical numbers over the two year period. Results There were 26,357 ophthalmic surgical procedures performed with a significant decrease in the first year of the pandemic (n = 8942) compared to the year prior to the pandemic (n = 17,415). The number of surgical procedures performed was lower in the first year of the pandemic compared to the year prior to the pandemic by 49% [Incidence rate ratio (IRR) 0.51, 95% CI 0.41–0.64), 27% (0.73, 0.55–0.99), 46% (0.54, 0.30–0.99), 40% (0.60, 0.39–0.92) and 59% (0.41, 0.29–0.57) in sub-Saharan Africa (4 regions combined), West, Central, East and Southern Africa, respectively]. The number of surgical procedures in the different sub-specialty categories in sub-Saharan Africa (4 regions combined) was significantly lower in the first year of the pandemic compared to the year prior to the pandemic, except for glaucoma (IRR 0.72, 95% CI 0.52–1.01), oncology (0.71, 0.48–1.05), trauma (0.90, 0.63–1.28) and vitreoretinal (0.67, 0.42–1.08) categories. Conclusion This study provides insight into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in multiple regions and countries on the African continent. The identification of which surgical subspecialty was most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in each region allows for better planning and resource allocation to address these backlogs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T23:02:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0a2228c258fd42e4b5cef14119dbe221 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1349-4147 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T23:02:12Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Tropical Medicine and Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-0a2228c258fd42e4b5cef14119dbe2212024-03-17T12:38:46ZengBMCTropical Medicine and Health1349-41472024-03-0152111310.1186/s41182-024-00589-1Impact of COVID-19 on ophthalmic surgical procedures in sub-Saharan Africa: a multicentre studyNaseer Ally0Sarah Ismail1Natasha Naidu2Ismail Makda3Ismail Mayet4Michael E. Gyasi5Peter Makafui6Arlette Nomo7Chantal Nanfack8Anesu T. Madikane9Walda D. Pohl10Bayanda N. Mbambisa11Jonathan T. Oettle12Feyi Adepoju13Toibat B. Tota-Bolarinwa14Amelia Buque15Sidonia J. N. Khalau16Douglas Zirima17Brian Takayidza18Ugochukwu A. Eze19Akinyemi Adedeji20Frank Sandi21Jacinta Feksi22Ogugua Okonkwo23Adekunle Hassan24Nagib du Toit25Shahlaa Petersen26Caroline Tsimi27Viola Dovoma28Mustapha Bature29Mohammed Adamu30Suhanyah Okeke31Ifeoma N. Asimadu32Nkiru N. Kizor-Akaraiwe33Chinyelu N. Ezisi34Henry E. Nkumbe35Tchoyou T. M. Olivier36Hassan D. Alli37St John Eye Hospital, University of the WitwatersrandSt John Eye Hospital, University of the WitwatersrandSt John Eye Hospital, University of the WitwatersrandSt John Eye Hospital, University of the WitwatersrandSt John Eye Hospital, University of the WitwatersrandSt Thomas Eye HospitalSt Thomas Eye HospitalYaounde Gynaeco-Obstetric and Paediatric HospitalYaounde Gynaeco-Obstetric and Paediatric HospitalTshwane District HospitalTshwane District HospitalLivingstone Hospital, Walter Sisulu UniversityLivingstone Hospital, Walter Sisulu UniversityUniversity of Ilorin Teaching HospitalUniversity of Ilorin Teaching HospitalDr Agarwal’s Eye HospitalDr Agarwal’s Eye HospitalSekuru Kaguvi Eye Unit, Paririnyetwa HospitalSekuru Kaguvi Eye Unit, Paririnyetwa HospitalFederal Medical CentreFederal Medical CentreThe University of Dodoma Medical SchoolThe University of Dodoma Medical SchoolEye Foundations HospitalEye Foundations HospitalGroote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape TownGroote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape TownYaounde Central HospitalYaounde Central HospitalUsmanu Danfodiyo University HospitalUsmanu Danfodiyo University HospitalEnugu State University Teaching HospitalEnugu State University Teaching HospitalThe Eye Specialists HospitalThe Eye Specialists HospitalMagrabi ICO Cameroon Eye InstituteMagrabi ICO Cameroon Eye InstituteSt John Eye Hospital, University of the WitwatersrandAbstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on healthcare and ophthalmology services globally. Numerous studies amongst various medical and surgical specialties showed a reduction in patient attendance and surgical procedures performed. Prior published ophthalmic literature focused on specific types of procedures and were usually single centre. The current study attempts to quantify the impact on a larger scale, namely that of sub-Saharan Africa, and to include all ophthalmic subspecialties. Methods This is a retrospective analysis of the surgical records from 17 ophthalmology centres in seven countries located in East, Central, West and Southern Africa. The date of declaration of the first lockdown was used as the beginning of the pandemic and the pivot point to compare theatre records one year prior to the pandemic and the first year of the pandemic. We examined the total number of surgical procedures over the two year period and categorized them according to ophthalmic subspecialty and type of procedure performed. We then compared the pre-pandemic and pandemic surgical numbers over the two year period. Results There were 26,357 ophthalmic surgical procedures performed with a significant decrease in the first year of the pandemic (n = 8942) compared to the year prior to the pandemic (n = 17,415). The number of surgical procedures performed was lower in the first year of the pandemic compared to the year prior to the pandemic by 49% [Incidence rate ratio (IRR) 0.51, 95% CI 0.41–0.64), 27% (0.73, 0.55–0.99), 46% (0.54, 0.30–0.99), 40% (0.60, 0.39–0.92) and 59% (0.41, 0.29–0.57) in sub-Saharan Africa (4 regions combined), West, Central, East and Southern Africa, respectively]. The number of surgical procedures in the different sub-specialty categories in sub-Saharan Africa (4 regions combined) was significantly lower in the first year of the pandemic compared to the year prior to the pandemic, except for glaucoma (IRR 0.72, 95% CI 0.52–1.01), oncology (0.71, 0.48–1.05), trauma (0.90, 0.63–1.28) and vitreoretinal (0.67, 0.42–1.08) categories. Conclusion This study provides insight into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in multiple regions and countries on the African continent. The identification of which surgical subspecialty was most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in each region allows for better planning and resource allocation to address these backlogs.https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-024-00589-1COVID-19OphthalmologySub-Saharan AfricaOphthalmic surgeryCataractGlaucoma |
| spellingShingle | Naseer Ally Sarah Ismail Natasha Naidu Ismail Makda Ismail Mayet Michael E. Gyasi Peter Makafui Arlette Nomo Chantal Nanfack Anesu T. Madikane Walda D. Pohl Bayanda N. Mbambisa Jonathan T. Oettle Feyi Adepoju Toibat B. Tota-Bolarinwa Amelia Buque Sidonia J. N. Khalau Douglas Zirima Brian Takayidza Ugochukwu A. Eze Akinyemi Adedeji Frank Sandi Jacinta Feksi Ogugua Okonkwo Adekunle Hassan Nagib du Toit Shahlaa Petersen Caroline Tsimi Viola Dovoma Mustapha Bature Mohammed Adamu Suhanyah Okeke Ifeoma N. Asimadu Nkiru N. Kizor-Akaraiwe Chinyelu N. Ezisi Henry E. Nkumbe Tchoyou T. M. Olivier Hassan D. Alli Impact of COVID-19 on ophthalmic surgical procedures in sub-Saharan Africa: a multicentre study Tropical Medicine and Health COVID-19 Ophthalmology Sub-Saharan Africa Ophthalmic surgery Cataract Glaucoma |
| title | Impact of COVID-19 on ophthalmic surgical procedures in sub-Saharan Africa: a multicentre study |
| title_full | Impact of COVID-19 on ophthalmic surgical procedures in sub-Saharan Africa: a multicentre study |
| title_fullStr | Impact of COVID-19 on ophthalmic surgical procedures in sub-Saharan Africa: a multicentre study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of COVID-19 on ophthalmic surgical procedures in sub-Saharan Africa: a multicentre study |
| title_short | Impact of COVID-19 on ophthalmic surgical procedures in sub-Saharan Africa: a multicentre study |
| title_sort | impact of covid 19 on ophthalmic surgical procedures in sub saharan africa a multicentre study |
| topic | COVID-19 Ophthalmology Sub-Saharan Africa Ophthalmic surgery Cataract Glaucoma |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-024-00589-1 |
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