TY  - JOUR
TI  - Preoperative COVID-19 RT-PCR Testing of Asymptomatic Patients for Ophthalmic Surgery: Experience from Two Tertiary Referral Centers
AB  - Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate how prevalent asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 virus infection (COVID-19) is among patients undergoing ophthalmic surgery at two tertiary referral hospitals. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included patients without COVID-19 symptoms who underwent preoperative screening using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) before ophthalmic surgery at the Kocaeli University and Gaziantep University departments of ophthalmology [between September 1, 2020, and December 15, 2020 (group 1); between March 1, 2021, and May 30, 2021 (group 2)]. Patients scheduled for surgery and followed up in the retina, glaucoma, pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus, cataract and refractive surgery, and cornea departments were examined. Results: RT-PCR was positive for SARS-CoV-2 in 12 (1.4%) of 840 patients in group 1 and 7 (1.1%) out of 600 patients in group 2. None of the patients were symptomatic of COVID-19. The majority of the patients were scheduled for retina or cataract and refractive surgery in both groups (group 1; retina: 29.2%, cataract and refractive: 57.0%, group-2; retina: 31.3%, cataract and refractive: 54.5%). SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing was positive for seven patients in group 1 (7/245, 2.9%) and five patients in group 2 (5/188, 2.6%) who were scheduled for retinal surgery. Conclusions: The necessity, availability, and practicality of COVID-19 RT-PCR testing prior to ophthalmic surgeries varies depending on the protocols of each institution. COVID-19 RT-PCR testing is suggested especially before vitreoretinal surgeries and general anesthesia procedures, because of the difficulty in managing postoperative complications.
AU  - Yılmaz Tuğan, Büşra
AU  - GÜRBOSTAN, NAZİFE GİZEM
AU  - Karabaş, Levent
AU  - Saygılı, Oğuzhan
AU  - Gungor, Kivanc
AU  - Önder Tokuç, Ecem
AU  - Seyyar, Sevim Ayça
AU  - Güray, Ahmet Burak
DO  - 10.37845/ret.vit.2023.32.4
PY  - 2023
JO  - Retina-Vitreus
VL  - 32
IS  - 1
SN  - 1300-1256
SP  - 22
EP  - 29
DB  - TRDizin
UR  - http://search/yayin/detay/1184435
ER  -