Ocular Morbidity among Patients Visiting the Department of Ophthalmology during the Coronavirus Disease 2021 Pandemic at a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: Due to the ongoing coronavirus disease 2021 pandemic and lockdown, eye care services have been compromised globally. The magnitude of ocular diseases across all populations in Nepal are few and far between and rare during this pandemic. This study was aimed to find out the prevalence of ocular morbidity among patients visiting the department of Ophthalmology of a tertiary care hospital during the pandemic. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the patients visiting the department of Ophthalmology of a tertiary care hospital from 18 August 2021 to 30 September 2021. Ethical clearance was taken from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference: 078/079023). Convenience sampling was done. Basic demographic data, clinical characteristics, visual status and prevalence of ocular morbidities were noted. Data entry was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 26. Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and percentage for binary data. RESULTS: Out of 650 study subjects examined, 454 (69.8%) (66-73.0 at 95% Confidence Interval) study subjects had at least one ocular morbidity in at least one eye. Refractive error 153 (33.7%) was the commonest ocular morbidity followed by headache 52 (11.5%), dry eyes 50 (11%), non-communicable diseases related ocular morbidity 41 (9%), and age related cataract 37 (8.1%). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of ocular morbidity in our study was higher than findings from other similar studies done at national and international levels, though the causes of ocular morbidity was similar.