Patients with keratoconus who had corneal cross-linking treatment delayed due to re-prioritization of services following the COVID-19 outbreak experienced further progression of the disease with loss of visual acuity lines.
“The results of our study clearly demonstrate that delays in cross-linking treatment ... had important implications for both patient’s vision and limiting therapeutic options available for patients with keratoconus,” the authors wrote.
As hospitals reshaped activities to face the COVID-19 pandemic, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists in the United Kingdom