Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ophthalmologic outpatient care: experience from an Italian Tertiary Medical Center

Purpose To evaluate the impact the COVID-19-related national lockdown has had on Ophthalmologic Outpatient Care in an Italian Tertiary Medical Centre. Methods We reviewed all the performances that were carried out as outpatient services at our department between 1 January 2020 and 30 November 2020. We compared data among four different periods: from 1 January 2020 to 17 March 2020 ("Pre-Lockdown"); from 18 March 2020 to 17 May 2020 (Lockdown); from 18 May 2020 to 2 November 2020 (Post-Lockdown) and from 3 November 2020 to 30 November 2020 (Regional Lockdown). Results The overall number of performed routine outpatient visits per day (ROVs) was 11,871 (Mean +/- SD = 35.76 +/- 17.81), whereas booked appointments (BAs) were 21272 (Mean +/- SD = 63.86 +/- 9.27), meaning a decline in the number of ROVs by 44.01%. (Mean +/- SD = 28.10 +/- 12.11, p<.001). Post-Lockdown and Regional Lockdown clinical activities, dropped respectively by 31 and 25.14% (38.87 +/- 3.88 vs. 56.34 +/- 11.06, pp<.001). The number of BAs per day decreased during the pandemic, going from a mean of 77.81 +/- 2.57 booked appointments per day before the lockdown, to a mean of 53.14 +/- 4.94, 61.80 +/- 4.62 and 72.07 +/- 1.09 appointments per day respectively during the lockdown, the post-lockdown and the regional lockdown periods. Conclusions During the various lockdown periods, at our institution the volume of outpatient ophthalmological visits drastically dropped. This testifies the dramatic impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the supply of ophthalmic care.