Management of COVID-19 in Ophthalmology.

ABSTRACT

From its outbreak in early 2020, the new SARS-CoV-2 infection has deeply affected the entire eye care system for several reasons. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, ophthalmologists were among the "high-risk category" for contracting the SARS-CoV-2 infection based on the notion that the eye was suspected to be a site of inoculation, infection, and transmission. Clinical ophthalmologists have been required to learn and promptly recognize the ocular manifestations associated with the COVID-19 disease, with its treatments and vaccinations. Restriction measures, lockdown periods, guidelines to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection transmission, and the use of telemedicine and artificial intelligence modalities have induced profound modifications. These changes, which are most likely to be irreversible, influence routine clinical practice, education, and research, thus giving rise to a "new ophthalmology in the COVID era". This book chapter aims to provide several notions regarding COVID-19 in ophthalmology, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus infection and transmission modalities; the ocular manifestation associated with the COVID-19 disease; the drugs and vaccines used for COVID-19; the precautions adopted in the ophthalmic practice to limit the spread of the virus; the consequences of the pandemic on the ophthalmic patients, clinicians, and the entire eye care system; and, the future of ophthalmology in the era of "COVID new normal".