ABSTRACT
Aim: To determine the awareness about and willingness to donate eyes among ambulance drivers in Central India. Design: Prospective, observational, noncomparative, and cross-sectional survey study. Setting: Tertiary eye care center in Central India. Methods: The present study used a structured questionnaire distributed to ambulance drivers during the eye donation fortnight (August 25-September 8, 2022). The questionnaire comprised four domains: awareness, knowledge beliefs, and willingness to donate eyes. The collected data were entered into an Excel sheet and analyzed using SPSS software. Results: Forty-seven ambulance drivers participated in the study. All participants were men. The results showed that 48.9% (n = 23) of the ambulance drivers had completed elementary or middle school education. Furthermore, 27 (57%) participants were aware of eye donation; however, only 14 (29.7%) realized its importance. The source of information was mobile phones (n = 20, 42.6%). The common reason for the nondonation of eyes was lack of awareness (n = 14 29.7%). Thirty-five (74.5%) ambulance drivers were willing to donate their eyes, and the most common reason was the gratification derived from helping blind people. Conclusion: The study revealed the need to improve awareness and knowledge about eye donation among the participants. Arranging short sessions round the year, addressing the myths associated with eye donation, and sharing motivational stories may help create awareness. Display of information and booklets on eye donation in the ambulance is likely to help in obtaining more corneas for transplantation.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: To compare the post-cataract endophthalmitis (PCE) rates among eyes undergoing syringing or regurgitation on pressure over the lacrimal sac (ROPLAS) test prior to cataract surgery. Methods: We performed a single-center, retrospective, comparative analysis of eyes developing PCE who underwent syringing prior to cataract surgery (group A) in the pre-COVID-19 era between November 1 2019 and January 31, 2020 and the eyes that underwent ROPLAS test prior to cataract surgery (group B) in the COVID-19 era between November 1, 2020 and January 31, 2021. Results: A total of 87,144 eyes underwent cataract surgery during the two time periods of the study. Syringing was performed in 48,071 eyes, whereas ROPLAS was performed in 39,073 eyes. In group A, 19 eyes (0.039%) developed PCE, whereas 20 eyes (0.051%) developed PCE in group B (P = 0.517). Between the two groups, the grade of anterior chamber cellular reaction (P = 0.675), hypopyon (P = 0.738), and vitreous haze (P = 0.664) were comparable. Gram-positive organisms were detected in 4 eyes in group A and 6 eyes in group B; 2 eyes in group A had gram-negative bacilli. The presenting visual acuity (Group A: LogMAR 1.42 and Group B: LogMAR 1.30) and final visual acuity (Group A: LogMAR 0.52 and Group B: LogMAR 0.5) were comparable between the two groups. (P = 0.544 and 0.384, respectively). Conclusion: The rates of PCE were comparable among the eyes undergoing either syringing test or ROPLAS prior to cataract surgery.