The impact of COVID-19 on ophthalmology practice in Egypt

Background: The emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affected medical practice all over the world including ophthalmology, especially elective procedures. Objectives: Evaluation of the effect of COVID-19 on ophthalmology practice in Egypt. Method: A cross-sectional study was done using an internet-based questionnaire including Egyptian ophthalmologists. Results: A total of 1257 participants completed the questionnaires. A majority of the responders (79.9%) were working in private ophthalmic organisations. Out of (79.9%) responders, (57.5%) were seeing patients at the time of the survey. The majority of patients seen (32%) and operations done (21.1%) were both emergency and electives. Most of the responders (82%) did not try to use telemedicine. The majority of the participants (81.5%) thought that the lockdown had a detrimental effect on the progression and follow-up of chronic diseases (e.g. glaucoma). Conclusion: COVID-19 affects elective ophthalmology practice; we need to activate the role of telemedicine according to ethics.