An investigation on the current patterns of using consumables and sterilizing accessories in phacoemulsification in China.

PURPOSE: To survey the routine application of consumables and sterilized accessories of phacoemulsification in mainland China.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study. A questionnaire link was sent to Chinese ophthalmologists via the most widely used social communication tool (WeChat platform).

RESULTS

A total of 815 questionnaires were determined to be valid and were included in the final analysis. The majority of respondents were from Guangdong, Shandong, Zhejiang, Hebei, and Henan provinces. A number of hospitals (48.22%) reused the fluidics management system (FMS) after sterilization. Among the hospitals using disposable FMS, 38.03% reused tubing after sterilization. Most respondents' hospitals (70.43%) sterilized the handpiece for each operation. Only 38.77% of the respondents' hospitals adopted irrigation fluid antibiotics and/or intracameral antibiotics intraoperatively. Greater single usage of FMS was significantly associated with higher provincial gross domestic product (GDP), government hospitals, provincial hospitals, and disposable tubing (P < 0.05). The adoption of irrigation fluid/intracameral antibiotics was correlated with the financial type of the hospital, the daily volume of phacoemulsification, and the usage of silicone tubing (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The results show a wide variation in the application of consumables and the sterilization of accessories in phacoemulsification in mainland China. Only half of the hospitals adopted interfusion/intracameral antibiotic prophylaxis, despite its efficacy having been confirmed. These data revealed potential safety issues of the sterilization of phacoemulsification instruments and the risk of intraocular infection.