The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the presence of viral RNA of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) in conjunctival swab specimen of coronavirus disease 2019 ...(COVID‐19) patients with and without conjunctivitis to establish the diagnostic value of reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) in each case and to describe its clinical characteristics. A cross‐sectional study was conducted at the Hospital Clinico San Carlos of Madrid, Spain. Thirty‐six subjects from the COVID admission unit with laboratory‐confirmed SARS‐CoV‐2 infection were included. Conjunctival swabs were collected from 18 patients with conjunctivitis and 18 patients without conjunctivitis and RT‐PCR was performed. Conjunctival swab was collected from both eyes of 36 patients (72 eyes), detecting SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA in conjunctival swab of two patients (5.5%). Among the 18 patients with conjunctivitis, only one of them (5.5%) showed positive results. Likewise, SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA was detected in one patient without conjunctivitis (5.5%). The mean age of the 36 patients was 67.9 years (range, 28‐92 years) and the male‐to‐female ratio was 0.44 (16:20). The mean days since the onset of COVID‐19 symptoms until conjunctivitis manifestation was 8 (range, 1‐24 days). The mean duration of the conjunctivitis was 3 days (range, 1‐7 days). SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA may be detected in conjunctival swabs of both patients with and without conjunctivitis. This study revealed the same rate of positive results amongst the group with and without conjunctivitis, suggesting that detecting SARS‐CoV‐2 in ocular fluids is not conditioned on the presence of conjunctivitis. The presence of SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA in ocular samples highlights the role of the eye as a possible route of transmission of the disease.
Highlights
SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA can be detected in conjunctival secretions of both patients with and without conjunctivitis. However, PCR essay of tears and conjunctival secretions appear to have a fairly low potential of detecting the virus.
Optic nerve analysis in COVID‐19 patients Burgos‐Blasco, Barbara; Güemes‐Villahoz, Noemi; Donate‐Lopez, Juan ...
Journal of medical virology,
January 2021, Letnik:
93, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the frequency and clinical presentation of conjunctivitis in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted at ...the Hospital Clinico San Carlos of Madrid, Spain. A total of 301 subjects from the COVID admission unit with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were included. The presence and clinical characteristics of conjunctivitis were evaluated. Laboratory, radiological, and clinical results in patients with and without conjunctivitis stratified by sex were analyzed.
Results
Of the 301 subjects included, 180 patients (59.8%) were male and the median age was 72 years (IQ 59–82). Overall, 35 patients (11.6%) were diagnosed with acute conjunctivitis. We found no relationship between the COVID-19 severity score and the presence of conjunctivitis (
P
= 0.17). However, conjunctivitis was more frequent in males with moderate clinical severity and in women classified as clinically mild. The natural history of the disease seems to be a rapid self-limited conjunctivitis that improves without treatment and does not affect visual acuity nor associate short-term complications.
Conclusions
Approximately, 1 out of 10 hospitalized non-critical COVID-19 patients presents conjunctivitis during the disease. Compared with other viral conjunctivitis, we found distinctive clinical findings that could guide defining and differentiating conjunctivitis in COVID-19 patients.
Trial registration number
20/336_E_COVID
Purpose
To assess the anterior scleral thickness (AST) and describe the presence of a visible supraciliary space (SCS) in central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) patients by swept-source optical ...coherence tomography (SS-OCT).
Study design
Cross-sectional comparative study.
Material and Methods
Three groups were studied: 1) 64 eyes of 54 patients with CSC with persistent subretinal fluid (SRF); 2) 42 fellow eyes of CSC patients without SRF; 3) 65 eyes of 65 controls matched by age, sex and axial length (AL). The AST was measured in the temporal and nasal quadrants at 0, 1, and 2 mm from the scleral spur by SS-OCT. The presence of a visible SCS was also assessed.
Results
No differences were observed in the AST0 among the three groups (p≥ 0.665). The temporal AST1 was significantly thicker in the CSC group (530.3 ±67.1 µm) than in the controls (505.5 ±73.9; p=0.041). Mean AST2 was also thicker in the CSC group and the fellow eyes both for the temporal (519.4 ±89.1 µm and 519.8 ±98.5 µm respectively) and nasal quadrants (564.2 ±124.9 µm and 570.5 ±131.0 µm) than in the controls (450.1 ±76.8 and 473.3 ±111.6 µm) (all p≤0.001). A visible SCS was detected in the eyes of 8 CSC patients, in 4 fellow eyes and only in 1 control eye.
Conclusions
AST measured by SS-OCT was significantly greater in CSC eyes than in healthy eyes. Also, a visible SCS was detected in CSC eyes. Thus, thicker sclera in CSC eyes could be associated with the physiopathology of this disease.
ObjectiveTo investigate the optic nerve and macular parameters of children who recovered from COVID-19 compared with healthy children using optical coherence tomography (OCT).DesignCohort ...study.SettingHospital Clinico San Carlos, Madrid.PatientsChildren between 6 and 18 years old who recovered from COVID-19 with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and historical controls were included.InterventionsAll patients underwent an ophthalmological examination, including macular and optic nerve OCT. Demographic data, medical history and COVID-19 symptoms were noted.Main outcome measuresPeripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer thickness, macular retinal nerve fibre layer thickness, macular ganglion cell layer thickness and retinal thickness.Results90 patients were included: 29 children who recovered from COVID-19 and 61 controls. Patients with COVID-19 presented an increase in global peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer thickness (mean difference 7.7; 95% CI 3.4 to 12.1), temporal superior (mean difference 11.0; 95% CI 3.3 to 18.6), temporal inferior (mean difference 15.6; 95% CI 6.5 to 24.7) and nasal (mean difference 9.8; 95% CI 2.9 to 16.7) sectors. Macular retinal nerve fibre layer analysis showed decreased thickness in the nasal outer (p=0.011) and temporal inner (p=0.036) sectors in patients with COVID-19, while macular ganglion cell layer thickness increased in these sectors (p=0.001 and p=0.015, respectively). No differences in retinal thickness were noted.ConclusionsChildren with recent history of COVID-19 present significant changes in peripapillary and macular OCT analyses.
The aim of this study is to analyze the concentrations of cytokines in tear of hospitalized COVID-19 patients compared to healthy controls. Tear samples were obtained from 41 healthy controls and 62 ...COVID-19 patients. Twenty-seven cytokines were assessed: interleukin (IL)-1b, IL-1RA, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL9, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-15, IL-17, eotaxin, fibroblast growth factor basic, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), granulocyte-monocyte colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interferon (IFN)-γ, interferon gamma-induced protein, monocyte chemo-attractant protein-1, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1a, MIP-1b, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), regulated on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted, tumor necrosis factor-α and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). In tear samples of COVID-19 patients, an increase in IL-9, IL-15, G-CSF, GM-CSF, IFN-γ, PDGF and VEGF was observed, along with a decrease in eotaxin compared to the control group (p < 0.05). A poor correlation between IL-6 levels in tear and blood was found. IL-1RA and GM-CSF were significantly lower in severe patients and those who needed treatment targeting the immune system (p < 0.05). Tear cytokine levels corroborate the inflammatory nature of SARS-CoV-2.
•Hyperinduction of proinflammatory cytokine plays an important role in the disease progression of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2.•Tear levels of cytokines are increased in COVID-19 patients.
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