- Ocular manifestations were compatible with conjunctivitis in 31.6% of patients with clinically confirmed COVID-19.1
- Out of 38 patients, 12 presented ocular findings, such as epiphora, conjunctival hyperemia, chemosis, or increased secretions.
- There is a low prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in tears; 5.2% of patients yielded positive in their conjunctival swabs as well as nasopharyngeal specimens.
- These manifestations were commonly encountered in patients with more severe systemic manifestations.
- Ocular symptoms were reported in 6.6% of patients with confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19.2
- Symptoms included itching, redness, tearing, discharge and foreign body sensation.
- 2 patients without ocular symptoms showed positive results for conjunctival SARS-CoV-2.
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- This second study found that the presence of ocular symptoms and the proportion of positive results of the conjunctival SARS-CoV-2 detection was not statistically correlated with the duration of disease.
There are currently no reports of sight-threatening manifestations of COVID-19.
These data were provided by a case series that included 38 patients with COVID-19 in Hubei Province, China, published in JAMA Ophthalmology on March 3 AND a cross-sectional study of 121 patients with confirmed COVID-19 in the Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University.
Sources:
- Wu P, Duan F, Luo C, et al. Characteristics of Ocular Findings of Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Hubei Province, China. JAMA Ophthalmol. Published online March 31, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2020.1291 Retrieved from : https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/article-abstract/2764083
- Zhou Y, Duan C, Zeng Y, et al. Ocular findings and proportion with conjunctival SARS-COV-2 in COVID-19 patients. Ophthalmology. 2020;127:XXeXX. Retrieved from : https://www.aaojournal.org/article/S0161-6420(20)30405-X/pdf