COVID-19: what reasons led patients to seek emergency care during the pandemic?

ABSTRACT

Objective: To analyze the reason why patients sought emergency eye care during the pandemic of COVID-19. Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study based on the analysis of medical records of patients seen at an ophthalmology emergency department of a private service in the city of Santos (SP) between March 11, 2020 and July 16, 2020. Results: A total of 386 patients were seen in the analyzed period. Most appointments (60.36%) were attended by women. People between 19 and 59 years old were the ones who most sought the emergency room (57.25%). When considering the profession of these patients, students and retired people presented the same proportion (10.26%), followed by housewives (6.99%). Of the total number of cases seen, 59 patients were diagnosed with conjunctivitis, while 58 were diagnosed with eye and orbit trauma. Conclusion: In the analyzed period, the ophthalmology emergency care predominantly received women in the age group between 19 and 59 years old, and the most frequent diagnoses were conjunctivitis and trauma.