Affiliation:
1. General University Hospital of Elche Elche Spain
2. Miguel Hernandez University of Elche Elche Spain
Abstract
Aims/Purpose: There is no definitive evidence on the extent of SARS‐CoV‐2's effect on the retina. This study aimed to determine if the natural history of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection influences tomographic findings in the retina of patients with COVID‐19 pneumonia.Methods: Prospective cohort study of patients hospitalized with COVID‐19 pneumonia. Patients underwent ophthalmological explorations and optical coherence tomography during the acute phase of the infection and at 12 weeks' follow‐up. Primary outcomes were central retinal thickness and central choroidal thickness, which were compared longitudinally and with non‐COVID‐19 historical controls.Results: No statistically relevant differences were observed in the longitudinal analysis of the thickness of the central retina (p = 0.056), central choroid (p = 0.99), retinal nerve fibre layer (p = 0.21) or ganglion cell layer (p = 0.32). Patients with acute COVID‐19 pneumonia showed significantly greater central retinal thickness than non‐COVID controls (p = 0.006).Conclusions: In conclusion, tomographic measures of the retina and choroid are not influenced by the phase of COVID‐19 infection and remain stable during 12 weeks. Central retinal thickness may increase in the acute phase of COVID‐19 pneumonia, but more epidemiological studies using optical coherence tomography in early stages of the disease are needed.References1. Invernizzi A, Torre A, Parrulli S, Zicarelli F, Schiuma M, Colombo V, Giacomelli A, Cigada M, Milazzo L, Ridolfo A, Faggion I, Cordier L, Oldani M, Marini S, Villa P, Rizzardini G, Galli M, Antinori S, Staurenghi G, Meroni L. Retinal findings in patients with COVID‐19: Results from the SERPICO‐19 study. EClinicalMedicine 2020 Oct;27:100550. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2020.1005502. Patel NS, Moon JY, Katz R, et al. Retrospective Analysis of Retinal Imaging in COVID‐19 Positive Patients at a Tertiary Eye Care Center. Clin Ophthalmol 2021 Sep 3;15:3727–3731. doi: 10.2147/OPTH.S309346