Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Essential Vitreoretinal Care with Three Epicenters in the United States

PURPOSE: To report the impact of COVID-19 on retina practices in three different “hot spot” cities in the United States. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The authors assessed data of encounters and intravitreal injections from March 16th to May 8th 2020, at different offices specializing in retina in the United States. All three practices are located in COVID-19 hot spot zones. One practice was in an academic setting, one practice was in a private multispecialty setting, and one practice was a solo private vitreo-retina practice. All practices were focused on emergent/urgent care, and the results were compared to preCOVID-19 weekly averages. RESULTS: A significant decrease in the number of encounters and injections was revealed in all three centers involved in this review. There was a decrease of 87% in encounters (156 patients were seen only) and a decrease of 58% (126 patients) in intravitreal injections in Weill Cornell Medical College in NYC and a decline of 59% (569 patients) in encounters and a decrease of 64% (280 patients) of intravitreal injections at the Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. The decline at Miami Ocular Oncology & Retina in Miami was 37% (1198 patients) in the encounters and 30% (867 patients) in the injections. CONCLUSION: This manuscript documents a specific example illustrating that COVID-19 has led to a significant decrease in specialized health services. The degree of infection and mortality rate at each hot spot had a direct impact on the practice volume; however, the type of practice setting also played a role.