The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) has stepped up recommendations around the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), advising Australian ophthalmologists and their asymptomatic patients to wear surgical masks during consultations.  

“When face-to-face consultations are required, both ophthalmologists and asymptomatic patients are advised to wear a surgical mask,” the college stated in a communication to members earlier this week. “Ophthalmologists should avoid touching patients directly and, if they need to, should wear disposable gloves or practise hand washing after each contact. Eye protection is preferable.” 

The new recommendation is stronger than previous advice from the Australian government’s Department of Health, which recommended healthcare workers only use PPE when caring for suspect or confirmed Covid-19 cases.  

“It is likely ophthalmologists are at higher risk of being infected by SARS-CoV-2 compared to the general population,” RANZCO said. “Given the fact that ophthalmologists may themselves be asymptomatic carriers and see multiple patients, mask-wearing may prevent infection of patients. This is particularly relevant for our patients who tend to be older and co-morbid and most vulnerable to Covid-19.”  

These are general recommendations, however, RANZCO notes, so should be determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the local prevalence of disease, local policies and importance of preserving supplies of PPE in Australia and New Zealand. 

Surgical masks are currently recommended for ophthalmologists seeing asymptomatic routine patients in the USA, UK, China, Italy, South Korea and Singapore.