Influence of Patient Mask Wearing on Ocular Injection-Related Infection Unclear

Pre-pandemic research suggests that mask wearing by clinicians may reduce infectious endophthalmitis in patients receiving ocular injections, and that a no-talking policy can also help. But the influence of mask wearing by patients themselves still remains to be precisely defined, ressearchers say, according to a Reuters report.

“With the pandemic, our patients now need to wear masks while in the clinic. We wondered if these masks directed bacteria towards the ocular surface because this could potentially pose a risk for ocular infections during in-office procedures,” said Dr. Jonathan S. Chang of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, in Madison.

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