Today via China…tips from TFOS member & clinical colleague
Dear friends,
I am Dr. Mingchang Zhang, the director of ophthalmology department of Wuhan Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College,Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and the Chair of the Ophthalmology Society in Hubei Province, China. As you know, in Wuhan, there were over fifty thousand patients infected with coronavirus in the past three months. We had been through a very difficult time, and thanks to the help of our colleagues and our friends all over the country and around the world, the new morbidity number of coronavirus patients has remained to be zero for five consecutive days. Wuhan is getting better, however, the new virus is spreading all over the world and became a pandemic emergency in a lot of countries.
Please be aware that this coronavirus is highly contagious. They could be spread through the respiratory droplet, and contact with the body fluids of patients (Such as tears, saliva, urine). It is also suspected that the virus may also be transmitted through direct contact with the eyes after touching these contaminated surfaces, such as eye touching or rubbing. Sometimes in hospitals where a lot of patients gather,especially in intensive care units, the virus may spread through the air if the concentration of viral aerosols high enough.
According to our latest study, we have detected strong positive expression of the virus in tears of patients with novel coronavirus infection,and in their nasolacrimal ducts that are connected with the respiratory tract. When ophthalmologist examine the patients, it is unavoidable that we are in a very close distance with them, and there are a lot of examination procedures involving direct contact. Therefore, ophthalmology is a department of very high risk under this situation. We must be highly aware of the professional exposure and be fully protected to prevent cross infection. Whenever medical staff are contacting with patients, they must wear masks, gloves and goggles, pay full attention to hand hygiene, wash hands frequently and avoid rubbing their eyes.
From the perspective of patients, it is suggested that ophthalmic patients are excluded from coronavirus infection before consulting. Every patient should wear a mask during examination or treatment. After examination or treatment, any place touched by the patient must be disinfected. At present, there are a few reports of conjunctivitis accompany with other symptoms in patients with coronavirus infection, but the incidence is relatively low. Also there were no serious viral conjunctivitis being identified. Since there is currently no special topical antiviral ophthalmic drug can be used, the major treatment for patients with coronavirus is to alleviate their eye discomforts. The tissues or towel that the patients have used to wipe their eyes or tears, must not be discarded casually and should be disinfected thoroughly.
My dear friends, we understand that the situation in some countries are getting very serious, and we are willing to share our clinical l to help our fellow ophthalmologist and also patients. Together, we believe that we could fight this novel coronavirus. Hope everyone keeps safe and healthy.
Registration for the 10th International TFOS Conference on the Tear Film & Ocular Surface: Basic Science and Clinical Relevance, which will be held from October 30 through November 2, 2024 at the Hilton Molino Stucky in Venice, Italy, is now OPEN!
>>> CLICK HERE TO REGISTER! <<<
...Yes, the wait is over...TFOS is launching TFOS DEWS III! Thank you, Alcon, the Title Sponsor.
We published the original TFOS DEWS report in 2007 and the international impact was amazing. As noted by a renowned ophthalmologist, “The publication of the TFOS DEWS report…was a landmark event in the history of our understanding and treatment of dry eye disease. Indeed, a European Medicines Agency official termed the TFOS DEWS report the dry eye “Bible".
We updated the TFOS DEWS report in 2017 and the impact of TFOS DEWS II report was...
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