Importance A small number of COVID-19 patients has been reported to suffer from acute keratoconjunctivitis. In very rare cases, acute inflammatory retinal vein occlusion, papillophlebitis or retinopathy have been observed. Objective To determine possible long-term effects on the eye, especially on the retina, in patients who had suffered from COVID-19 at least 3 months after recovery. Design Prospective cross-sectional study. Setting Hospital of the Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich. Participants Patients who had been tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 or for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG serum antibodies in the Hospital of the Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich between May and September. Methods Patients who had tested positive were either hospitalized or discharged into home quarantine via the emergency room. Three months after recovery, they were invited to participate voluntarily for this study during their follow-up in our clinic. A complete ophthalmological exam including functional and imaging end points (including optical coherence tomography (OCT), OCT angiography) was performed. Main outcomes and measures Visual acuity, slit lamp, bio microscopy and fundoscopy, multimodal imaging findings. Results In total, 21 patients were examined. The mean age (SD) of the patients was 48.7 (18.3) years. Of these, 14 (66.6%) were hospitalized and 7 (33.3) were discharged home. Two hospitalized patients (9.5%) received invasive ventilation. During the infection, 14 of the 21 patients (66.6%) were in regular care whereas 2 patients (9.5%) received intensive care ventilation for 8.5 (SD) (0.7) days on average in the COVID ICU. Ophthalmological examination of the previously hospitalized group took place 111.4 (23.2) days after recovery and discharge from the hospital, while non-hospitalized patients were examined after mean 123.4 (44.7) days. All patients showed normal findings for anterior and posterior segment of both eyes. OCT and OCT-A showed no evidence of retinal damage, or vascular or microvascular events. Conclusion and relevance This study with a small prospective cohort of 21 patients indicates that there might be no evidence of ocular complications at 3 months after recovery from COVID-19, without previous eye involvement. Further studies with more participants with and without acute ocular symptoms are necessary for final evidence.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, COVID-19 vascular risk, COVID-19 retinal microangiopathy COVID-19 retina, 【초록키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, Hospitalized, intensive care, cross-sectional, hospital, Infection, Ventilation, Symptom, outcome, invasive ventilation, discharge, ICU, COVID, anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG, Microscopy, Prospective, Patient, Complication, age, Follow-up, serum antibody, Retina, prospective cohort, university, Care, Evidence, Inflammatory, home quarantine, COVID-19 patient, Optical coherence tomography, Munich, Visual, Vascular, average, measure, participant, Final, end point, eyes, positive, ocular, Effect, Complete, objective, setting, discharged home, retinal vein, Result, tested, examined, reported, the patient, events, was performed, functional, indicate, determine, hospitalized patient, suffered, discharged, Importance, Maximilian, retinal damage, took place, 【제목키워드】 Evidence, ocular, lack,