Trends in cataract surgery and healthcare system response during the COVID-19 lockdown in Malaysia: Lessons to be learned.

Autor:	Lim AW; Centre for Clinical Epidemiology, Institute for Clinical Research, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia., Leong CT; Centre for Clinical Epidemiology, Institute for Clinical Research, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia., Salowi MA; Department of Ophthalmology, Selayang Hospital, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Batu Caves, Selangor, Malaysia.; Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia., Lim YMF; Centre for Clinical Care and Outcomes Research, Institute for Clinical Research, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.; Julius Global Health, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands., Wong WJ; Centre for Clinical Epidemiology, Institute for Clinical Research, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia., Hwong WY; Centre for Clinical Epidemiology, Institute for Clinical Research, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.; Julius Global Health, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	Public health in practice (Oxford, England) [Public Health Pract (Oxf)] 2024 Jan 27; Vol. 7, pp. 100469. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jan 27 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI:	10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100469
Abstrakt:	Background: Elective surgeries were suspended during the national lockdown in March 2020 to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. We sought to evaluate the impact of the lockdown on cataract surgeries and suggest lessons for future outbreaks. Study Design: We conducted an interrupted time series analysis to examine rates of cataract surgery before and during the lockdown. Methods: We used national cataract surgical data between 2015 and 2021 from the Malaysian Cataract Surgery Registry. Segmented regression with a seasonally adjusted Poisson model was used for the analysis. Stratified analyses were performed to establish whether the effect of the lockdown on cataract surgeries varied by hospital designation, type of cataract service, sex, and age groups. Results: Cataract surgeries began falling in March 2020 at the onset of the lockdown, reached a trough in April 2020, and subsequently increased but never recovered to pre-lockdown levels. Cataract surgical rates in December 2021 were still 43 % below the expected surgical volume, equivalent to 2513 lost cataract surgeries. There was no evidence of a differential effect of the lockdown between COVID-19 designated and non-COVID-19 designated hospitals. The relative decrease in cataract surgical rates appears to have been greatest in outreach services and in people 40 years and older. Conclusions: The lockdown caused an immediate reduction in cataract surgical rates to nearly half of its baseline rate. Despite its gradual recovery, further delays remain to be expected should there be no redistribution or increase in resources to support backlogs and incoming new cases. (© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Royal Society for Public Health.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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