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

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.

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Purpose: To investigate the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT), macular RNFLT, ganglion cell layer (GCL), and inner plexiform layer (IPL) thickness in recovered COVID-19 patients compared to controls. Methods: Patients previously diagnosed with COVID-19 were included, while healthy patients formed the historic control group. All patients underwent an ophthalmological examination, including macular and optic nerve optical coherence tomography. In the case group, socio-demographic data, medical history, and neurological symptoms were collected. Results: One hundred sixty patients were included; 90 recovered COVID-19 patients and 70 controls. COVID-19 patients presented increases in global RNFLT (mean difference 4.3; CI95% 0.8 to 7.7), nasal superior (mean difference 6.9; CI95% 0.4 to 13.4), and nasal inferior (mean difference 10.2; CI95% 2.4 to 18.1) sectors of peripapillary RNFLT. Macular RNFL showed decreases in COVID-19 patients in volume (mean difference −0.05; CI95% −0.08 to −0.02), superior inner (mean difference −1.4; CI95% −2.5 to −0.4), nasal inner (mean difference −1.1; CI95% −1.8 to −0.3), and nasal outer (mean difference −4.7; CI95% −7.0 to −2.4) quadrants. COVID-19 patients presented increased GCL thickness in volume (mean difference 0.04; CI95% 0.01 to 0.07), superior outer (mean difference 2.1; CI95% 0.8 to 3.3), nasal outer (mean difference 2.5; CI95% 1.1 to 4.0), and inferior outer (mean difference1.2; CI95% 0.1 to 2.4) quadrants. COVID-19 patients with anosmia and ageusia presented an increase in peripapillary RNFLT and macular GCL compared to patients without these symptoms. Conclusions: SARS-CoV-2 may affect the optic nerve and cause changes in the retinal layers once the infection has resolved.

Purpose Thrombotic events (TE) represent one of the major complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The objective is to evaluate vessel density (VD) and perfusion density (PD) by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in COVID-19 patients, and compare the findings with healthy controls. The secondary objective is to evaluate if there are differences in OCTA parameters between COVID-19 patients with and without associated TE. Methods Cross-sectional case-control study that included patients with laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 with and without TE related to the infection and age-matched healthy controls. Ophthalmological examination and OCTA were performed 12 weeks after diagnosis. Demographic data and medical history were collected. Macular OCTA parameters in the superficial retinal plexus were analyzed according to ETDRS sectors. Results Ninety patients were included, 19 (20%) COVID-19 patients with associated TE, 47 (49.5%) COVID-19 patients without TE, and 29 (30.5%) healthy controls. Fifty-three (55.7%) were male, mean age 54.4 (SD 10.2) years. COVID-19 patients presented significantly lower VD than healthy controls: central (p = 0.003), inner ring (p = 0.026), outer ring (p = 0.001). PD was also significantly decreased: outer ring (p = 0.003), full area (p = 0.001). No differences in OCTA parameters were found between COVID-19 patients with and without TE. Conclusions OCTA represents a promising tool for the in vivo assessment of microvascular changes in COVID-19. Patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection show lower VD and PD compared to healthy controls. However, no differences were found between COVID-19 when considering TE. Prospective studies are required to further evaluate the retinal microvascular involvement of SARS-CoV-2 and its impact on the vasculature of other organs.