Does Wearing Mask Eliminate the Risk of Eye Exam Equipment Contamination in COVID-19 Era?
Fatemeh Nadjafi-Semnani1 *, Masood Naseripour1 , Sayyed Amirpooya Alemzadeh1 , Reza Mirshahi1
- Eye Research Center, The Five Senses Institute Rassoul Akram Hospital , Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abstract: To evaluate equipment contamination after performing a comprehensive ophthalmic examination on COVID-19 patients wearing a surgical mask on a slit lamp with a breath shield.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in tertiary hospital, eye clinic, Tehran, Iran, in August 2020. Three polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive COVID patients underwent comprehensive ophthalmic examination while wearing a surgical face mask. Afterwards surface swabs were collected from different parts of the slit lamp and utilized equipment. Samples were evaluated for the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA.
Results: 60 surface samples and 6 tear samples schirmer's were obtained. Of them, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in 2 swaps taken from slit lamp (patient/s side) and +90D lens used for fundoscopic exam. After disinfecting the surfaces by ethanol 70% for 20s, the obtained samples were negative.
Conclusion: This study demonstrated that viral particles can be found on slit-lamp and accessory examination devices (e.g. +90D lens) following ophthalmic examination of COVID-19 patients despite wearing a surgical mask.
