Chandra et al. in their recent paper published in Eye described the current situation regarding the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) for vitreoretinal surgery during COVID-19 [1]. They advised that appropriate PPE including FFP3 masks for surgeons and nurses be used during phacoemulsification and pars plana vitrectomy (PPV). We would like to inform readers that in Scotland, we have received guidance from Health Protection Scotland [2] that in conjunction with World Health Organisation Guidance from 2014 [3], there is no evidence of an increased risk of aerosol transmission in a list of procedures which includes phacoemulsification and PPV. This guidance has been agreed in collaboration with experts from New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group and Public Health England.
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24 June 2020
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References
Chandra A, Haynes R, Burdon M, Laidlaw A, Neffendorf J, Eames I, et al. Personal protective equipment (PPE) for vitreoretinal surgery during COVID-19. Eye (Lond). 2020:1–4. [Epub ahead of print].
Health Protection Scotland Document www.hps.scot.nhs.uk Assessing the evidence base for medical procedures which create a higher risk of respiratory infection transmission from patient to healthcare worker. https://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/web-resources-container/assessing-the-evidence-base-for-medical-procedures-which-create-a-higher-risk-of-respiratory-infection-transmission-from-patient-to-healthcare-worker/ (2020).
World Health Organization. Infection prevention and control of epidemic-and pandemic prone acute respiratory infections in health care. WHO guidelines. https://www.who.int/csr/bioriskreduction/infection_control/publication/en/ (2014).
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Cackett, P., Bennett, H. Phacoemulsification and pars plana vitrectomy: no evidence of an increased risk of aerosol transmission. Eye 35, 1274 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-020-1016-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-020-1016-8
