systemic symptoms and comorbidities of the patients were also recorded. Results Forty patients were included. The average time from the initiation of symptoms was 3.15 days. Unilateral conjunctivitis has been observed in 5% of patients and foreign body sensation in 7.5% of patients. No viral RNA was detected in the tear samples of the patients with ocular findings. The positivity rate for SARS-CoV-2 in tears was 2.5% (n = 1). None of the samples collected by Schirmer test strips yielded positive polymerase chain reaction result for SARS-COV-2. The Ct value of the positive conjunctival swab was 36.03 and the nasopharyngeal Ct value of the same patient was 25.68. Conclusion The SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding rate has been determined as 2.5% in the tears of early symptomatic stage COVID-19 patients. The viral load of the tears was lower than the naso-oropharynx. The conjunctival swab method is recommended in tear collection to evaluate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR analysis in low viral load tears.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.