Ocular Symptoms Common in Patients with COVID-19

Ocular symptoms are relatively common in patients with COVID-19, according to a study in Acta Ophthalmology.

In this study, ocular history and ocular symptoms data was collected from 56 patients with SARS-CoV-2. The Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) and Salisbury Eye Evaluation Questionnaire (SEEQ) were used to evaluate the patient’s anterior ocular surface condition before and after becoming infected.

Aggravated ocular symptoms were found in 15 (27%) of patients. Of those 15, 6 (11%) had prodromal ocular symptoms before disease onset. There were significant differences before and after onset of COVID-19 in mean scores of both OSDI questionnaire and SEEQ.

The authors concluded that ocular symptoms are relatively common in COVID-19 disease.

Reference

Hong N, Yu W, Xia J, Shen Y, Yap M, Han W. Evaluation of ocular symptoms and tropism of SARS-CoV-2 in patients confirmed with COVID-19 [published online ahead of print, 2020 Apr 26]. Acta Ophthalmol. 2020;10.1111/aos.14445. doi:10.1111/aos.14445