Ieva Kunickaitė¹

¹Vilnius University, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius, Lietuva

Abstract

Introduction. SARS-CoV-2 pandemic had far-reaching and long-lasting consequences. The prevalence of ophthalmic events has been reported in the literature to be generally low but highly variable, ranging from 0.8% to 55.6%, including anterior and posterior ocular lesions.

Purpose. To present  and summarize information on the most common manifestations of COVID-19 in ophthalmology based on the latest scientific literature.

Methods.  The literature review was performed using PubMed and ScienceDirect databases. Scientific articles were searched by keywords and their combinations: COVID-19 disease, COVID-19 conjunctivitis, viral keratoconjunctivitis, COVID-19 retina, optic neuritis.

Results. In systemic reviews, the most common anterior segment lesion related to SARS-CoV-2 infection were conjunctivitis (86%). Often  keratoconjunctivitis can be a complication of untreated conjunctivitis. Also, isolated cases of optic neuritis provoked by COVID-19 have been reported in the literature. To addition, in patients with COVID-19 disease, retinal changes are observed during ophthalmoscopy and posterior segment optical coherence tomography. It is important to note that retinal findings are most commonly observed in hospitalized patients with pathological, moderate, or severe forms of COVID-19 disease. 

Conclusions.  The study found that COVID-19  manifestations in ophthalmology are nonspecific  and relevant to ophthalmic specialists. A common manifestation of COVID-19 is viral conjunctivitis. Posterior segment lesions (optic neuritis, retinopathy) are less common but more dangerous with a sudden decrease in visual acuity.

Keywords. COVID-19 disease, COVID-19 conjunctivitis, viral keratoconjunctivitis, COVID-19 retina, optic neuritis.