Visual Impact of Digital Classroom among Students Attending Online Education.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 outbreak has changed the traditional teaching method of using blackboards to digital devices assisted online classes. Spending long hours in front of digital devices might lead to different ocular problems in children. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among school-going children attending digital online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. A web-based online form was used to evaluate the impact of digital classrooms on the visual status of school-going children. Children were selected from 5 randomly selected schools from different parts of Kathmandu Valley who had online classes for at least 2 hours during the COVID-19 pandemic era. RESULTS: A total of 303 usable responses were obtained from a response rate of 41% with an average age of 10 years. Sixty-four percent of children had online classes up to 6 hours a day and 44% used laptops for online classes followed by smartphones (38%). The most common symptom was headache affecting 39.3% of the children, followed by difficulty seeing bright light (35%) and itching of the eyes (35%). Forty percent of the children felt that their eyes were affected after online class. Multivariate analysis showed that the total duration spent on digital devices was the greatest risk factor associated with the ocular symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Ocular symptoms and digital eye strain related to the excessive use of digital devices have increased due to the increased duration of online classes. Awareness about the prevention and measures to reduce the adverse effects should be stressed.

Panophthalmitis secondary to retained intraocular foreign body amidst a national lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case series and review of literature.

Introduction: Intraocular foreign bodies (IOFBs) can be serious as they may result in vision-threatening ocular inflammations and even loss of the eye. Delay in presentation or treatment by more than 24 hours from the time of injury results in a poor prognosis. In penetrating wounds, microorganisms enter the eye through penetrating objects. Both bacterial and fungal organisms are responsible for causing panophthalmitis. At the ocular level, these microorganisms produce irreversible damage which includes keratitis, uveitis, hypopyon, vitreous abscesses, retinal necrosis, detachment, and, finally, panophthalmitis. Case scenarios: In this case series, we report three cases of IOFB presenting with panophthalmitis secondary to delay in seeking medical attention. In our cases, there was a delay in the presentation by more than 24 hours of trauma. All cases had panophthalmitis at the time of presentation. In two cases, the causative organism was coagulase-negative staphylococci and in one case it was staphylococcus. Initially, we planned to manage them with intravitreous, intravenous and topical antibiotics till the inflammation subsides, then IOFB removal surgeries were planned. However, in two cases, the clinical presentation worsens with scleral necrosis. Therefore, they had to undergo evisceration. In one case, the antibiotics therapy was enough without IOFB removal surgery to manage her symptoms. All cases recovered uneventfully after the interventions. Discussion/Conclusion: In developing nations, like Nepal, transportation barriers can affect a person's access to health care services. This can be clearly explained from this case series as limited transportation options in rural regions are a major factor for all patients' delayed presentation to the hospital during the time of national lockdown in the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The concerned authority must pay attention to solving such social determinants of health.

Unfolding COVID-19: Lessons-in-Learning in Ophthalmology.

IMPORTANCE: An observant Chinese doctor Li Wenliang became the first physician to alert the world about COVID-19. Being an ophthalmologist himself, he has put the additional onus on us. The fact that the ocular manifestation could be the first presenting feature of novel coronavirus pneumonia should not be ignored and the possibility of spread of SARS-CoV-2 through the ocular secretions cannot be ruled out. However, with breakthroughs still evolving about this disease, the calls are now louder for closer examination on the pathogenesis of conjunctivitis associated with it. Hence, we conducted a scoping review of all available literature till date to fill in the "potential" gaps in currently available knowledge on ocular manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection in an attempt to establish continuity in the "chain of information" from December 2019 till April 2020. We also summarize a possible hypothesis on much less understood and highly debated topics on regard to the etiopathogenesis of ocular involvement in SARS-CoV-2 based on either presence or absence of ACE2 receptor in the ocular surface. METHODS: We conducted a scoping review search of published and unpublished SARS-CoV-2-related English language articles from December 2019 till mid of April 2020 from the online databases. The findings were summarized using text, tables, diagrams, and flowcharts. RESULTS: The commonest ocular manifestation in SARS-CoV-2 infection is follicular conjunctivitis and has been the first manifestation of SARS-CoV-2 infection in 3 reported cases till date. The ocular surface inoculated with the SARS-CoV-2 leads to the facilitation of the virus to the respiratory system via the lacrimal passage. RT-PCR analysis of the ocular secretions has shown the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleotides indicating the possibility of infection of ocular secretions. ACE2 receptors and its expression on the ocular mucosal surface are linked behind the etiopathogenesis of conjunctivitis. CONCLUSION: Conjunctivitis can be the presenting manifestation but may go unnoticed due to its mild nature. The ocular surface could serve as the entry gateway for the virus and ocular secretions could play a role in virus shed. The eye care personnel, as well as the general people, need to be more vigilant and adopt protective eye measures.