The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Wait-Times for Ophthalmic Surgery in Ontario, Canada: A Population-Based Study.

IF 1.8 Q3 OPHTHALMOLOGY

Clinical ophthalmology Pub Date : 2023-06-26 eCollection Date: 2023-01-01 DOI:10.2147/OPTH.S409479

Michael Balas, Diana Vasiliu, Gener Austria, Tina Felfeli

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Abstract

Objective: To investigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on case volumes and wait-times for ophthalmic surgery in Ontario, Canada.

Design: Population-based retrospective cohort study.

Participants: Patients undergoing ophthalmic surgery in Ontario, Canada, from 2010 to 2021, collected from the Ontario Health Wait Times Information System (WTIS) database.

Methods: The WTIS contains non-emergent surgical case volume and wait-time data for six ophthalmic subspecialty surgery types, three priority levels (low, medium, high) and 14 different regions in Ontario. Case volume and wait-times were compared between the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021) and the preceding time period (2010-2019) across all stratifications.

Results: There was a significant decrease in case volumes and significant increase in wait-times across geographic regions, priority levels, and subspecialty surgeries from the pre-pandemic to pandemic period. Moreover, COVID-19 exacerbated pre-existing wait-time disparities between sexes, with females waiting 4.1 days longer than males overall to receive surgery in 2010-2019 compared to waiting 8.8 days longer in 2020-2021 (117% increase).

Conclusion: These findings highlight the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ophthalmic surgical wait times in Ontario. Cataract, strabismus and oculoplastic surgeries, the Waterloo Wellington, Central, and South East regions of Ontario, and those with female sex had the greatest relative increases in wait-times during the pandemic.

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COVID-19 大流行对加拿大安大略省眼科手术等待时间的影响：基于人口的研究。

目的：调查 COVID-19 大流行对加拿大安大略省眼科手术病例数量和等待时间的影响：调查 COVID-19 大流行对加拿大安大略省眼科手术病例数和等待时间的影响：设计：基于人群的回顾性队列研究：从安大略省健康等待时间信息系统（WTIS）数据库中收集的 2010 年至 2021 年期间在加拿大安大略省接受眼科手术的患者：WTIS包含安大略省六个眼科亚专科手术类型、三个优先级别（低、中、高）和14个不同地区的非急诊手术病例数量和等待时间数据。在 COVID-19 大流行期间（2020-2021 年）和之前的时间段（2010-2019 年），对所有分层的病例数量和等待时间进行了比较：结果：从大流行前到大流行期间，不同地理区域、优先级别和亚专科手术的病例数明显减少，等待时间明显增加。此外，COVID-19加剧了两性之间原有的等待时间差异，2010-2019年女性接受手术的总等待时间比男性多4.1天，而2020-2021年女性接受手术的总等待时间比男性多8.8天（增加了117%）：这些发现凸显了 COVID-19 大流行对安大略省眼科手术等待时间的影响。在大流行期间，白内障、斜视和眼部整形手术、安大略省滑铁卢惠灵顿、中部和东南部地区以及女性患者的等待时间相对增加最多。

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