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Introduction Cataract being one of the leading causes of avertible blindness has been found to be quite prevalent in developing countries like India. The National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB) aims at reducing blindness due to cataract via cataract control programs. The most commonly performed surgery is the manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS). Aim The aim of this study was to determine the visual acuity and outcome in patients who underwent MSICS in a tertiary hospital in south India. Methodology A prospective longitudinal interventional study was conducted in a tertiary hospital in Karnataka, India, over a period of nine months. A total of 105 eyes underwent MSICS and were followed up for one month to assess their postoperative visual outcome and complications, if any. During this period, they were started on antibiotic + steroid combination eyedrops, which were tapered over four weeks. Results Results were assessed based on visual grading categorized by the World Health Organization (WHO). A total of 103 (98.1%) patients had good vision, i.e., visual acuity of 6/6 - 6/18, followed by two (1.9%) who had moderate vision i.e., visual acuity of <6/18 - 3/60, and none were blind or with visual acuity of <3/60. Complications seen intraoperatively in two patients (1.9%) were iris prolapse and posterior capsular rent, respectively, and postoperatively one (0.95%) patient showed hyphema with inferior haptic in the anterior chamber. Conclusion This study proves that a good visual outcome with a low complication rate can be achieved after MSICS with posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation.

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BACKGROUND COVID-19, caused by a new strain of corona virus 2019-nCoV led to a global pandemic after first manifesting in humans in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. The government of India ordered a nationwide lockdown for 21 days, which was then extended. Hence, ophthalmology, being a branch which largely deals with elective surgeries, was majorly affected. We need to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on ophthalmology trainees during pandemic in India. METHODS A prospective, observational study in which an online questionnaire (on Google forms) was circulated between 9 th September and 15th September 2020 among ophthalmologists in training. RESULTS 260 of the 550 training ophthalmologists who were approached responded. They were given 31 questions to answer. The average age of the respondents was 27.39 ± 1.92 years of which 72.69 % (189 / 260) were females. 68.08 % (177 / 260) of the respondents had been posted on COVID-19 related duties. 76.5 % (198 / 260) of the respondents agreed that the outpatient load had dropped to < 50 patients per day and 100 % (260 / 260) of the respondents stated that there had been a reduction in number of patients posted for elective surgery. As a result, 64.23 % (167 / 260) responded that it had led to a loss of interest in their daily activities. 74.23 % reported different levels of stress, 73.46 % reported anxiety and some 24.23 % even experienced sleep deprivation. CONCLUSIONS This study has demonstrated that majority of the training ophthalmologists were affected psychologically during the COVID-19 pandemic to varying degrees which included both groups of training ophthalmologists who did or did not perform any COVID related duties. The study therefore has highlighted the increased need for psychologists to identify and help these individuals who may suffer from severe depression, insomnia and high stress levels and provide the necessary help. KEYWORDS COVID-19, Pandemic, Psychological Impact, Ophthalmology Trainees

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