Retinal vein occlusions before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Visual outcomes and treatment patterns in a country with no mandatory lockdown.

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the incidence, treatment patterns and visual outcomes in patients with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) and central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in a country with no mandatory lockdown. Methods: This retrospective study included 788 patients presenting with a retinal vein occlusion (RVO) during 2019–2022 at St. Erik Eye Hospital. The control group and study groups consisted of patients presenting before and during the pandemic respectively. Results: The incidence of diagnosed RVO cases decreased from 281 patients before the pandemic to 236 patients during the first year of the pandemic (p<0.05). In BRVO patients at the end of follow-up, the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) improved 10.3 letters (95% CI 7.6-12.9) in the control group compared to 14.3 letters (95% CI 12.6-16.0) in the study groups (p<0.05). In CRVO patients the BCVA improved 6.3 letters (95% CI 2.7-10.0) in the control group compared to 8.6 letters (95% CI 5.7-11.4) in the study groups (p=NS). Overall, the number of intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections increased from 7.0 (95% CI 6.6-7.3) in the control group to 7.6 (95% CI 7.4-7.8) in the study groups (p<0.05). Conclusion: Good visual and anatomical outcomes were sustained, and the number of intravitreal anti-VEGF injections increased significantly in RVO patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.