Impact of Covid-19 lock down period on ocular trauma in pediatric population

Abstract

Introduction: This study investigated the effect of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown on the incidence of ocular trauma in children. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we collected data of pediatric patients who presented with ocular trauma in the emergency department during the lockdown period (from 22 March, 2020, to 30 May, 2020). In addition, we collected data of patients presenting with ocular trauma during the same period in the previous year. We compared the number of patients who underwent ocular surgery and the number of paediatric patients with ocular trauma between these two periods. A confounding factor may be the absence of patients from different districts who could not travel to the centre due to travel restrictions. Results: Between 22 March, 2019, and May 2019, a total of 156 (17%) of total opd patients presented with ocular trauma, of whom 28(27.8%) required surgery. By contrast, between 22 March, 2020, and May 2020, a total of 92(33.9%) of total outdoor patients presented with ocular trauma, of whom 25(65.7) % required surgery. Conclusions: Covid-19 lockdown exerted a significant effect on the incidence of ocular trauma in pediatric population.