Objective: Handwashing is now considered as one of the best safety measures to prevent COVID-19 infection. The effect of excessive handwashing for health on OCD patients who are already having washing compulsion is not known. Furthermore, the fear of contamination of COVID-19 in patients who already have obsession of contamination is not known. This study aims to evaluate the effect of COVID-19 on OCD patients. Method: Phone interviews were done with 84 patients previously diagnosed with obsession of contamination and compulsive washing. Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale was used and the scores of the participants were compared to their prepandemic scores. Results: Only 5 patients (6%) had exacerbation of symptoms after the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the patients did not report any deterioration of symptoms due to the pandemic. Conclusion: Handwashing protocol does not aggravate the washing compulsion of patients. Similarly, the fear of infection with COVID-19 does not increase their fear of contamination.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a relatively common neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication, associated with restrictive and repetitive behaviors, interests, and activities. However, there are various positive character traits among individuals suffering from ASD – they are generally honest, decisive, and nonjudgmental. They are also reported to have excellent attention to details, which have been ascribed to their enhanced visual search skills. Aim: Our study was undertaken to assess these visuospatial perception skills among children with autism and compare the results with that of typically developing (TD) children in the Indian population. Materials and Methods: A total of 47 children with ASD and 47 age-, gender-, and education-matched TD children were assessed using tests for disjunctive and conjunction search, real-world visual search, and visual working memory. Results: Children with ASD performed significantly better than the TD children in tests for visual search and were comparable in the test for visual working memory. Conclusion: Our study showed that children with autism have enhanced visual skills, and this quality can be honed further and be utilized in jobs that require good observation skills and attention to details.

Background: Central Serous Chorioretinopathy (CSCR) is an important cause of nonsurgical retinopathy leading to moderate to severe visual loss. Almost 50% cases undergo recurrence, and one of the recognizable risk factors is endogenous hypercortisolism. Aims and Objective: Our study intended to its presence in recurrent CSCR patients compared to non-chorioretinal disorder. Materials and Methods: Eighteen-month cross-sectional comparative study done on recurrent CSCR patients and matched refractive error patients comprised the comparison group. Use of exogenous steroids and diagnosed conditions of hypercortisolism were excluded. Sample size for both the groups was 34 in each. After taking history and performing ocular examination, blood samples for serum cortisol estimation collected in the morning and in the evening in patients of both the groups. Results analyzed using standard statistical methods. Results: All patients of recurrent CSCR were males. The mean serum levels of cortisol were higher than laboratory reference range during both times of the day in recurrent CSCR patients, and these levels were significantly higher than those in the comparison groups. Conclusion: Recurrent CSCR patients have higher level of endogenous cortisol compared to the non-chorioretinal patients, and its early recognition and management would certainly benefit the patients.

Background: A Worldwide concern, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) which is caused by a novel coronavirus termed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been also found to be associated with ocular signs and symptoms. Apart from being transmitted among close contacts via respiratory droplets, it is being considered that ocular mucosa, its secretions can also be responsible for transmission. Aims and objectives: To see the different ocular manifestations in patients admitted with COVID-19 infection at a tertiary care hospital along with presence of the virus in ocular secretions. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study on 80 patients admitted with SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosed by Reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positive results and followed up during their hospital stay in COVID isolation wards, till discharge or death within a time period from 15th April,2020 to 10th August,2020. Results: Out of the 80 SARS-CoV-2 positive patients studied, 10(12.5%) patients had conjunctival chemosis, 8(10%) patients had conjunctival hyperaemia,12(15%) patients had epiphora and 9(11.25%) patients had increased ocular discharge. 5(6.25%) patients had positive results for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR in both conjunctival as well as nasopharyngeal swabs. Conclusion: Ocular involvement can be one of the different systemic involvements of SARS-CoV-2 infection and ocular secretion can be a potential source of transmission of the virus. Hence, ocular protection in the form of spectacles or face shields must be undertaken apart from the other barriers to reduce the possible chances of transmission of the disease.

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