Trends in pediatric visits at a tertiary ophthalmology center during COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: Utilization of ophthalmology services dramatically changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the long-term effects on service utilization for children has yet to be investigated. Methods: Retrospective medical record review of patients ≤18 years old presenting to the emergency department (ED) and pediatric ophthalmology clinics (POC) at a tertiary ophthalmology center from May-September 2020. Data regarding patient demographics, diagnoses and visit volumes were analyzed. Results: There were a total of 1,946 pediatric encounters, 73.3% (1427) which occurred in the POC. The number of patients per month for POC doubled after the first month of reopening and then stabilized, meanwhile, the ED volume experienced only a 5% increase in June and August. The mean age for POC patients was significantly lower compared to ED (7.4 vs 9.8 years;P < 0.05). There was no difference in gender between POC and ED visits (males: 50.0% POC vs 50.2% ED;P = 1.00). The three most common diagnoses in POC were strabismus (51.2%), amblyopia (9.8%) and refractive error (9.7%) while in the ED, most children (48.0%) had external and anterior segment pathology, such as chalazion, eyelid edema and corneal abrasions. Conclusion/Relevance: The age and diagnoses of pediatric patients differed when comparing patients who presented to the POC to the ED. Although the ED volume remained relatively stable even after clinics reopened during the COVID-19 pandemic, the POC visit volume doubled after first month of reopening.