ABSTRACT
The relationships between work and health/illness are the main task of the occupational physician, with the occupational medical examination being used to address these relationships, together with a workplace study and epidemiological analyses. This study had as a guiding clinical question: Is telemedicine occupational examination (telediagnosis) accurate compared with in-person occupational examination? The studies were selected by four independent reviewers, meeting the eligibility criteria. The searches resulted in 12,654, 29, 3, and 0 articles retrieved from MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Google Scholar databases and hand search, respectively. Of this total, 284 studies were selected by title and abstract screening, none of which met the previously established eligibility criteria for study inclusion (references excluded). There is currently no evidence comparing regular or standard (in-person) occupational examination vs telemedicine occupational examination. Therefore, there is no supporting evidence to recommend the use of occupational telediagnosis (occupational examination).
As relações entre trabalho e saúde/doença são a principal tarefa do médico do trabalho, sendo o exame ocupacional utilizado para abordar essas relações, juntamente com o estudo do local de trabalho e análises epidemiológicas. Este estudo teve como questão clínica norteadora: o exame ocupacional por telemedicina (telediagnóstico) é acurado quando comparado ao exame ocupacional presencial? Os trabalhos foram selecionados por quatro revisores independentes, atendendo aos critérios de elegibilidade. Foram recuperados, nas bases consultadas MEDLINE, EMBASE, Google Scholar e manual, respectivamente, 12.654, 29, 3 e 0 artigos. Desse montante, foi selecionado pelo título e resumo um total de 284 estudos (referências excluídas), dos quais não foi possível selecionar nenhum que atendesse aos critérios de elegibilidade previamente estabelecidos. No momento, não há evidência comparando o exame ocupacional regular ou padrão (presencial) e o mesmo exame por meio de telemedicina. Portanto, não há como recomendar o uso de telediagnóstico ocupacional (exame ocupacional).
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: The current pandemic of severe acute respiratory symptom coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has had a major impact on individuals' lives. Social isolation and the use of personal protective equipment - the latter being especially important for health care workers - emerged as two of the main methods of preventing the spread of the disease. The eye can represent a source of transmission through contaminated tears, as well as a source of infection for respiratory droplets or aerosol particles, which may come into contact with the ocular surface and migrate to the lungs and other parts of the body. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the risk of ocular transmission through a literature review and identify ways of preventing it. METHODS: A search of the scientific literature was conducted in the PubMed and Cochrane databases, using a combination of the following keywords: "COVID-19," "eye," "personal protective equipment," "SARS-CoV-2," "protective goggles," "face shields," and "workers' health." RESULTS: The mechanisms of ocular transmission have not been fully elucidated, but studies have demonstrated the presence of viral RNA in the conjunctival sac and aerosolized secretions of contaminated patients; these droplets may come into contact with the eyes of uninfected bystanders, entering the respiratory system through the nose and gaining access to the lungs. CONCLUSIONS: Studies show that the virus can be effectively transmitted through the eyes, underscoring the importance of protective goggles for health care workers or potential transmitters of the virus, in addition to the need for additional education measures to encourage hand hygiene and discourage touching of the eyes.
