THE INFLUENCE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON THE MANAGEMENT OF OPHTHALMOLOGICAL EMERGENCIES AND EMERGENCIES

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought several changes to the lifestyle of the world's population. One of them was the encouragement of social isolation, which was promoted by several public and private sectors in periods where the incidence of cases caused overcrowding in hospitals and, consequently, an overload on health services. Within the context of ophthalmology, several public segments were harmed, drastically affecting the treatment of several patients around the world. This narrative literature review brought together articles from the main databases aiming to investigate the main ocular urgencies and emergencies, with the aim of preventing overcrowding of urgency and emergency services in times of pandemic. Foreign body injuries, traumas, ulcers in the corneal layers and keratitis are considered emergencies, as this type of condition requires immediate and specialized treatment, and surgical resolution may be necessary in some specific situations. Other eye conditions such as uveitis, cataracts, conjunctivitis and pterygium must be diagnosed early so that management can be determined according to the severity of the patient's condition.