EC Ophthalmology

The Covid-19 pandemic, courtesy to the SARS-Cov-19 virus took the lead in emergence of many multisystem pathologies and complications. In specific, the magnitude of ophthalmic case presentations reporting what the virus had left behind is growing. As per a recent review, the prevalence of ophthalmic manifestations among COVID-19 patients ranges from 2 - 32% [1]. However, COVID-19 associated neuro-ophthalmic manifestations, in specific, are infrequent and only a handful of isolated cases were reported.

Of the reported ocular diagnoses is orbital apex syndrome (OAS). Also known as Jacob’s syndrome, OAS is an afferent neuro-ophthalmic disorder that can arise on a multi-etiological background including infections, inflammations, neoplasms, traumas, vasculitis. OAS manifests as sudden visual loss, ophthalmoplegia and ophthalmalgia secondary to partial or total involvement of cranial nerves II, III, IV, V, VI.

In this article, we report a case of orbital apex syndrome that had an initial presentation of COVID-19 induced optic neuritis. While neuro-ophthalmic sequela is usually well recognized in older, comorbid patient populations; our case is unique as it presented in healthy young patient affected by Covid-19 infection.

Keywords: COVID-19; Neuro-Ophthalmic Manifestations; SARS-CoV-2; Optic Neuritis; Ophthalmoplegia; Orbital Apex Syndrome

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