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Cataract surgery in an outpatient clean room using a portable laminar air flow device – efficient, effective and safe
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First Author: R.Patel UK
Co Author(s): R. Patel B. While A. Smith J. Deutsch S. Scotcher S. Madge
Abstract Details
Purpose:
In 2020, routine cataract surgery was halted in most countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic in order to reduce transmission. To reintroduce surgery, a safe cataract pathway was developed using a portable laminar airflow device within an outpatient department clean room to minimise patient exposure and time spent in hospital.
Setting:
Outpatient setting, UK District General Hospital
Methods:
Patients had staggered arrival times to eliminate need for a waiting room, waiting in their cars using a mobile pager system. A one-way outpatient style flow through the department was created and a sterile air zone unit, the Toul Meditech Operio Mobile device, was used to create a sterile surgical site in an outpatient clean room. Patients were followed up via telephone 14 days post-operatively to assess satisfaction and development of post-operative complications.
Results:
The initial 100 patients treated were studied in detail. No patients had intra-operative or post-operative complications. The average time spent within the department was 74.3 minutes (unilateral cases, range 45-115) and 93.1 minutes (bilateral cases, 55-135 minutes). At 2-week follow-up, patients reported a high level of satisfaction with the system, no symptoms or presentations consistent with endophthalmitis and no symptoms of COVID-19. A further 415 consecutive patients then underwent routine phacoemulsifcation using the same equipment in two clean room environments. No patients sustained post-operative infection (n=0/515, 0.0%).
Conclusions:
Initial results demonstrate a safe, efficient and effective cataract surgery pathway with high patient satisfaction by converting a clean room into an ophthalmic operating theatre using the Toul Meditech Operio Mobile.
Financial Disclosure:
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