Maybe. A study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology found an increase in endophthalmitis cases after vitrectomy during the COVID mask-wearing period.
Tell me more.
This was a retrospective study including 31 institutions in Japan. Patients who had undergone vitrectomy in 2019, the pre-COVID–19 period, and between July 2020 and June 2021, the COVID mask period, were studied. The total number of vitrectomies and the total number of postoperative endophthalmitis cases were determined.
Then, the differences in the incidence of postoperative endophthalmitis between the pre-COVID–19 period and the COVID mask period were studied, along with the type of pathogens causing the endophthalmitis.
What did they find?
The incidence of postoperative endophthalmitis was significantly lower in the pre-COVID–19 period (0.11%, or 18 cases of endophthalmitis) than in the COVID mask period (0.21%, or 31 cases of endophthalmitis). In the pre-COVID–19 period, four of the 18 eyes were culture-positive, and all were of the Staphylococcus family.
In the COVID mask period, nine of the 31 eyes were culture-positive, and four cases were related to oral commensals, including Streptococcus spp, which are reportedly very rare in endophthalmitis after vitrectomy.