{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,2]],"date-time":"2026-10-02T13:48:07Z","timestamp":1790948887704,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,15]],"date-time":"2024-03-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1710460800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,15]],"date-time":"2024-03-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1710460800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Trop Med Health"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on healthcare and ophthalmology services globally. Numerous studies amongst various medical and surgical specialties showed a reduction in patient attendance and surgical procedures performed. Prior published ophthalmic literature focused on specific types of procedures and were usually single centre. The current study attempts to quantify the impact on a larger scale, namely that of sub-Saharan Africa, and to include all ophthalmic subspecialties.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>This is a retrospective analysis of the surgical records from 17 ophthalmology centres in seven countries located in East, Central, West and Southern Africa. The date of declaration of the first lockdown was used as the beginning of the pandemic and the pivot point to compare theatre records one year prior to the pandemic and the first year of the pandemic.\u00a0We examined the total number of surgical procedures over the two\u00a0year period and categorized them according to ophthalmic subspecialty and type of procedure performed. We then compared the pre-pandemic and pandemic surgical numbers over the two\u00a0year period.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>There were 26,357 ophthalmic surgical procedures performed with a significant decrease in the first year of the pandemic (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20098942) compared to the year prior to the pandemic (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u200917,415).\u00a0The number of surgical procedures performed was lower in the first year of the pandemic compared to the year prior to the pandemic by 49% [Incidence rate ratio (IRR) 0.51, 95% CI 0.41\u20130.64), 27% (0.73, 0.55\u20130.99), 46% (0.54, 0.30\u20130.99), 40% (0.60, 0.39\u20130.92) and 59% (0.41, 0.29\u20130.57) in sub-Saharan Africa (4 regions combined), West, Central, East and Southern Africa, respectively]. The number of surgical procedures in the different sub-specialty categories in sub-Saharan Africa (4 regions combined) was significantly lower in the first year of the pandemic compared to the year prior to the pandemic, except for glaucoma (IRR 0.72, 95% CI 0.52\u20131.01), oncology (0.71, 0.48\u20131.05), trauma (0.90, 0.63\u20131.28) and vitreoretinal (0.67, 0.42\u20131.08) categories.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>This study provides insight into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in multiple regions and countries on the African continent. The identification of which surgical subspecialty was most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in each region allows for better planning and resource allocation to address these backlogs.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s41182-024-00589-1","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,15]],"date-time":"2024-03-15T03:01:37Z","timestamp":1710471697000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Impact of COVID-19 on ophthalmic surgical procedures in sub-Saharan Africa: a multicentre study"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"52","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6676-9352","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Naseer","family":"Ally","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sarah","family":"Ismail","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Natasha","family":"Naidu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ismail","family":"Makda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ismail","family":"Mayet","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael E.","family":"Gyasi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"Makafui","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Arlette","family":"Nomo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chantal","family":"Nanfack","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anesu T.","family":"Madikane","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Walda D.","family":"Pohl","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bayanda N.","family":"Mbambisa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jonathan T.","family":"Oettle","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Feyi","family":"Adepoju","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Toibat B.","family":"Tota-Bolarinwa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amelia","family":"Buque","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sidonia J. N.","family":"Khalau","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Douglas","family":"Zirima","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Brian","family":"Takayidza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ugochukwu A.","family":"Eze","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Akinyemi","family":"Adedeji","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Frank","family":"Sandi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jacinta","family":"Feksi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ogugua","family":"Okonkwo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Adekunle","family":"Hassan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nagib","family":"du Toit","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shahlaa","family":"Petersen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Caroline","family":"Tsimi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Viola","family":"Dovoma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mustapha","family":"Bature","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mohammed","family":"Adamu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Suhanyah","family":"Okeke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ifeoma N.","family":"Asimadu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nkiru N.","family":"Kizor-Akaraiwe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chinyelu N.","family":"Ezisi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Henry E.","family":"Nkumbe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tchoyou T. M.","family":"Olivier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hassan D.","family":"Alli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"589_CR1","unstructured":"WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard. https:\/\/covid19.who.int. Accessed 9 May 2023."},{"key":"589_CR2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1053\/j.semnuclmed.2021.06.022","volume":"52","author":"M Kirienko","year":"2022","unstructured":"Kirienko M, Telo S, Hustinx R, Bomanji JB, Chiti A, Fanti S. The impact of COVID-19 on nuclear medicine in Europe. Semin Nucl Med. 2022;52:17\u201324.","journal-title":"Semin Nucl Med"},{"key":"589_CR3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"113429","DOI":"10.1016\/j.psychres.2020.113429","volume":"293","author":"S Singh","year":"2020","unstructured":"Singh S, Roy D, Sinha K, Parveen S, Sharma G, Joshi G. Impact of COVID-19 and lockdown on mental health of children and adolescents: a narrative review with recommendations. Psychiatry Res. 2020;293:113429.","journal-title":"Psychiatry Res"},{"key":"589_CR4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1189","DOI":"10.1007\/s40520-020-01601-4","volume":"32","author":"K Palmer","year":"2020","unstructured":"Palmer K, Monaco A, Kivipelto M, et al. The potential long-term impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on patients with non-communicable diseases in Europe: consequences for healthy ageing. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2020;32:1189\u201394.","journal-title":"Aging Clin Exp Res"},{"key":"589_CR5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/aje\/kwaa191","author":"SA G\u00f3mez-Ochoa","year":"2020","unstructured":"G\u00f3mez-Ochoa SA, Franco OH, Rojas LZ, et al. COVID-19 in healthcare workers: a living systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence, risk factors, clinical characteristics, and outcomes. Am J Epidemiol. 2020. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/aje\/kwaa191.","journal-title":"Am J Epidemiol"},{"key":"589_CR6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.m1117","volume":"368","author":"J Willan","year":"2020","unstructured":"Willan J, King AJ, Jeffery K, Bienz N. Challenges for NHS hospitals during covid-19 epidemic. BMJ. 2020;368: m1117.","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"key":"589_CR7","unstructured":"Weisenbacher L. National patient and procedure volume tracker. 2020."},{"key":"589_CR8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"403","DOI":"10.1007\/s12029-021-00621-1","volume":"53","author":"J Cui","year":"2022","unstructured":"Cui J, Li Z, An Q, Xiao G. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on elective surgery for colorectal cancer. J Gastrointest Cancer. 2022;53:403\u20139.","journal-title":"J Gastrointest Cancer"},{"key":"589_CR9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"932","DOI":"10.1007\/s12328-021-01424-4","volume":"14","author":"R Gupta","year":"2021","unstructured":"Gupta R, Gupta J, Ammar H. Impact of COVID-19 on the outcomes of gastrointestinal surgery. Clin J Gastroenterol. 2021;14:932\u201346.","journal-title":"Clin J Gastroenterol"},{"key":"589_CR10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"233","DOI":"10.1080\/09286586.2021.1934037","volume":"29","author":"S Sanjay","year":"2022","unstructured":"Sanjay S, Leo SW, Au Eong K-G, et al. Global ophthalmology practice patterns during COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2022;29:233\u201344.","journal-title":"Ophthalmic Epidemiol"},{"key":"589_CR11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1639","DOI":"10.2147\/OPTH.S302576","volume":"15","author":"N Din","year":"2021","unstructured":"Din N, Phylactou M, Fajardo-Sanchez J, Watson M, Ahmad S. The Impact of COVID-19 on acute and elective corneal surgery at Moorfields Eye Hospital London. Clin Ophthalmol. 2021;15:1639\u201345.","journal-title":"Clin Ophthalmol"},{"key":"589_CR12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"368","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ajo.2020.08.044","volume":"222","author":"H Al-Khersan","year":"2021","unstructured":"Al-Khersan H, Kalavar MA, Tanenbaum R, et al. Emergent ophthalmic surgical care at a tertiary referral center during the COVID-19 pandemic. Am J Ophthalmol. 2021;222:368\u201372.","journal-title":"Am J Ophthalmol"},{"key":"589_CR13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2818","DOI":"10.4103\/ijo.IJO_1568_21","volume":"69","author":"AV Das","year":"2021","unstructured":"Das AV, Reddy JC. Year one of COVID-19 pandemic: effect of lockdown and unlock phases on cataract surgery at a multi-tier ophthalmology network. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2021;69:2818\u201323.","journal-title":"Indian J Ophthalmol"},{"key":"589_CR14","first-page":"23","volume":"18","author":"A Ugochukwu","year":"2023","unstructured":"Ugochukwu A, Abdullahi A, Osamudiamen O, et al. Presentation and outcome of ocular injuries during the Covid-19 lockdown in Katsina State. SAOJ. 2023;18:23\u20136.","journal-title":"SAOJ"},{"key":"589_CR15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"458","DOI":"10.1080\/09286586.2021.1875012","volume":"28","author":"EN Stedman","year":"2021","unstructured":"Stedman EN, Jefferis JM, Tan JH. Ocular trauma during the COVID-19 lockdown. Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2021;28:458\u201360.","journal-title":"Ophthalmic Epidemiol"},{"key":"589_CR16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"709","DOI":"10.4103\/ijo.IJO_3200_20","volume":"69","author":"D Agrawal","year":"2021","unstructured":"Agrawal D, Parchand S, Agrawal D, et al. Impact of COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdown on ocular trauma at a tertiary eye care institute. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2021;69:709\u201313.","journal-title":"Indian J Ophthalmol"},{"key":"589_CR17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"295","DOI":"10.1136\/bjophthalmol-2021-319627","volume":"107","author":"OA Halawa","year":"2023","unstructured":"Halawa OA, Friedman DS, Roldan AM, Zebardast N. Changing trends in ocular trauma during the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA. Br J Ophthalmol. 2023;107:295\u20138.","journal-title":"Br J Ophthalmol"},{"key":"589_CR18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"240","DOI":"10.7196\/SAMJ.2021.v111i3.15263","volume":"111","author":"R Waters","year":"2021","unstructured":"Waters R, Dey R, Laubscher M, et al. Drastic reduction of orthopaedic services at an urban tertiary hospital in South Africa during COVID-19: Lessons for the future response to the pandemic. S Afr Med J. 2021;111:240.","journal-title":"S Afr Med J"},{"key":"589_CR19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjpo-2021-001066","volume":"5","author":"MAA Farooq","year":"2021","unstructured":"Farooq MAA, Kabir SMH, Chowdhury TK, Sadia A, Alam MA, Farhad T. Changes in children\u2019s surgical services during the COVID-19 pandemic at a tertiary-level government hospital in a lower middle-income country. BMJ Paediatrics Open. 2021;5: e001066.","journal-title":"BMJ Paediatrics Open"},{"key":"589_CR20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2647","DOI":"10.1007\/s00405-020-06093-6","volume":"277","author":"P Di Maio","year":"2020","unstructured":"Di Maio P, Traverso D, Iocca O, De Virgilio A, Spriano G, Giudice M. Endoscopic nasopharyngoscopy and ENT specialist safety in the COVID 19 era: the back endoscopy approach to the patient. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2020;277:2647\u20138.","journal-title":"Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol"},{"key":"589_CR21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjgh-2020-003319","volume":"5","author":"N Haider","year":"2020","unstructured":"Haider N, Osman AY, Gadzekpo A, et al. Lockdown measures in response to COVID-19 in nine sub-Saharan African countries. BMJ Glob Health. 2020;5: e003319.","journal-title":"BMJ Glob Health"},{"key":"589_CR22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"100571","DOI":"10.1016\/j.gfs.2021.100571","volume":"31","author":"R Birner","year":"2021","unstructured":"Birner R, Blaschke N, Bosch C, et al. \u2018We would rather die from Covid-19 than from hunger\u2019\u2014exploring lockdown stringencies in five African countries. Glob Food Sec. 2021;31:100571.","journal-title":"Glob Food Sec"},{"key":"589_CR23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"167","DOI":"10.1186\/s12916-022-02367-4","volume":"20","author":"G Bwire","year":"2022","unstructured":"Bwire G, Ario AR, Eyu P, et al. The COVID-19 pandemic in the African continent. BMC Med. 2022;20:167.","journal-title":"BMC Med"}],"container-title":["Tropical Medicine and Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1186\/s41182-024-00589-1.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1186\/s41182-024-00589-1\/fulltext.html","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1186\/s41182-024-00589-1.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,15]],"date-time":"2024-03-15T03:06:46Z","timestamp":1710472006000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/tropmedhealth.biomedcentral.com\/articles\/10.1186\/s41182-024-00589-1"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,15]]},"references-count":23,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,12]]}},"alternative-id":["589"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s41182-024-00589-1","relation":{},"ISSN":["1349-4147"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1349-4147","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,15]]},"assertion":[{"value":"11 September 2023","order":1,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"22 February 2024","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"15 March 2024","order":3,"name":"first_online","label":"First Online","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"order":1,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"Ethics approval from the coordinating site was obtained from the Human Research ethics unit at the University of the Witwatersrand. Sites that were granted independent ethical approval were as follows: 1. University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa): M220421. 2. Benjamin Mkapa Hospital (Tanzania): BMH\/EC\/11\/2022. 3. Federal Medical Centre (Nigeria): FMC\/ASB\/A81 VOL.XIII\/279. 4. University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (Nigeria): UITH\/REU\/CAT\/21<sup>B<\/sup>349. 5. Usmanu Danfodiyo University (Sokoto, Nigeria): UDUTH\/HREC\/2022?1176\/VT. 6. Magrabi Eye institute (Cameroon): No 001\/AEF\/MICEI\/EC\/0920. 7. Dr. Agarwal\u2019s Eye Hospital (Mozambique): DAEH-15\/2023. 8. Yaounde Gynaeco-Obstetric Hospital (Cameroon): 341\/CIERSH\/DM\/2022. For the remainder of the hospitals involved the ethics approval from the principal site was sufficient or no ethical approval was required due to the retrospective nature of the research.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate"}},{"value":"No individual patient data is contained in the manuscript.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent for publication"}},{"value":"The authors declare that they have no competing interests.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}],"article-number":"24"}}