EC Ophthalmology

Background and Objective: Different studies have identified a wide range of ocular symptoms and manifestations in patients with the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19). Considering the ambiguities in the field of ocular complications following the infection of COVID-19, the present study was conducted with the aim of estimating the prevalence rate of ocular manifestations including neuritis, uveitis, and vasculitis in patients with COVID-19.

Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 425 patients with a positive PCR test and hospitalized in the acute respiratory disease department of Valiasr and Razi Hospital in Birjand were included. Personal and medical information questionnaires were completed for each patient and patients who complained of eye and vision problems were examined by an ophthalmologist. Then, OCT of the optic nerve head was taken to investigate eye involvement such as neuritis, uveitis, and vasculitis in patients with eye symptoms. In the end, the prevalence of ocular manifestations was calculated and analyzed using SPSS statistical software

Results: The average age of the patients was 60.44 ± 15.22 and 56.1% were male. 64 patients (15.1%) had at least one eye-related symptom; While 361 people (84.9%) did not report any eye complications. The complications observed in the order of frequency included conjunctivitis (6.8%), blepharitis (4.7%), dry eyes (2.1%), mild vision loss (1.9%) and excessive tearing (1.2%). In OCT examination, the most common complication was uveitis (0.9%), vasculitis (0.5%) and neuritis (0.2%) were rarely observed. No significant relationship was found between age, gender, duration of hospital stay, BMI of patients and the occurrence of any of the eye complications.

Conclusion: In this study, 15.1% of hospitalized Covid-19 patients showed ocular signs and symptoms. The factor associated with severe systemic disease of COVID-19, i.e. the duration of hospitalization, was not associated with the development of eye abnormalities. Overall, the rate of ocular manifestations of COVID-19 should not be underestimated, so clinicians should routinely assess for ocular involvement in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Keywords: Covid-19; Ocular Manifestations; Neuritis; Uveitis; Vasculitis

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