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

ABSTRACT:

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.<

SUBMITTER: Lim AW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10844644 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature