key: cord-1005422-t3mgxa7e
authors: Tang, Fen; Huang, Guangyi; Huang, Wei; Xu, Fan
title: An easy protective measure in ophthalmology against medical supply shortage
date: 2020-04-16
journal: Infection control and hospital epidemiology
DOI: 10.1017/ice.2020.136
sha: 30c552a67cbaaf594e9a68f8df2e90b7773cb393
doc_id: 1005422
cord_uid: t3mgxa7e

nan

To the Editor-The rapidly spreading pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) poses a huge challenge to global public health. Healthcare systems in many countries are facing severe shortages of medical supplies. [1] [2] [3] Healthcare workers in ophthalmology departments are susceptible to cross infection because routine ophthalmic examinations, such as like slit-lamp microscopy, are usually performed in a setting of close doctor-patient contact. 4 Three ophthalmologists in Wuhan Central Hospital were infected with SARS-CoV-2 and died from severe COVID-19. 5, 6 At the ophthalmic center of Guangxi Province, we have continued to provide medical services for outpatients who need timely services during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in response to the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) (eg, face shields and gowns) during the epidemic peak in China, 7 we have adopted an easy measure to perform slitlamp examinations. After thorough disinfection, we installed a home-made shield at the slit-lamp to separate patients and ophthalmologists. As shown in Figure 1 , the protective shield is placed between the chin rest/headrest and the microscope.

The protective shield could prevent contamination of the slitlamp by respiratory droplets. Although the shortage of medical supplies is currently being alleviated in China, we are encouraging the continuation of this easy protective measure to curb cross transmission in ophthalmology and to protect the ophthalmologists on the frontline of the pandemic.

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Acknowledgments.Financial support. No financial support was provided relevant to this article.

All authors report no conflicts of interest relevant to this article.