COVID-19: Update on Its Ocular Involvements, and Complications From Its Treatments and Vaccinations

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) came under the attention of the international medical community when China first notified the World Health Organization of a pneumonia outbreak of then-unknown etiology in Wuhan in December 2019. Since then, COVID-19 caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has appalled the world by spreading at a pandemic speed. Although ophthalmologists do not directly engage in the clinical care of COVID-19 patients, the ophthalmology community has become aware of the close ties between its practice and the pandemic. Not only are ophthalmologists at heightened risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure due to their physical proximity with patients in routine ophthalmic examinations, but SARS-CoV-2 possesses ocular tropism resulting in ocular complications beyond the respiratory tract after viral exposure. Furthermore, patients could potentially suffer from adverse ocular effects in the therapeutic process. This review summarized the latest literature to cover the ophthalmic manifestations, effects of treatments, and vaccinations on the eye to aid the frontline clinicians in providing effective ophthalmic care to COVID-19 patients as the pandemic continues to evolve.

Acute-onset dacryoadenitis following immunisation with mRNA COVID-19 vaccine

“…Furthermore, Lin et al 9 recently described adverse ocular outcomes of acute abducens nerve palsy, uveitis, Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease activation, anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy and acute corneal graft rejection after Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination. Testi et al 12 reported 70 patients who presented with ocular inflammatory events within 14 days of COVID-19 vaccination, including anterior and posterior uveitis, and scleritis.…”

“…Given the recent introduction of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, data on short-term and long-term side effects are still evolving. Several case reports have noted the development of intraocular immunological and inflammatory events after COVID-19 19mRNA vaccination,9 including cranial nerve palsies,10 11 uveitis,12 13 episcleritis,14 anterior scleritis,12 acute-onset central serous chorioretinopathy15 and acute macular neuropathy16 within 72 hours of receiving COVID-19 mRNA vaccinations.…”

SARS-CoV-2 Neuroinvasion, Inflammatory Neurodegeneration and Alzheimer's Disease

“…Early in the COVID-19 pandemic it was also noted that many patients, during or after COVID-19 infection over the "short term" complain of a general malaise and extra-respiratory neurological symptoms including confusion, delirium, headache, mental and psychiatric disorders, disorders in mood (depression and dysthymic disorder), disturbances in sleep (insomnia), cognitive and memory impairment, "brain fog", deficiency in smell (anosmia) or taste (ageusia), muscle weakness and myalgia, sensorimotor deficits, dysautonomia as well as convulsions and/or peripheral neuropathies that include Bell's palsy and peripheral neuropathies with pain (Gupta and Jawanda, 2022;Lingor et al, 2022;Stefanou et al, 2022). COVID-19 associated ocular manifestations have been also documented to include a wide range of ophthalmic symptoms associated with eye irritation (chemosis), conjunctivitis, conjunctival hyperemia, anterior uveitis, retinitis, and optic neuritis and in advanced COVID-19 infection with visual and perception disturbances including visual disorientation and hallucinations, especially in elderly COVID-19 patients (Hill et al, 2021;Hixon et al, 2021;Lin et al, 2021;Reinhold et al, 2021;Al-Namaeh, 2022;Lukiw, 2022a,b). Accumulating evidence indicates an especially high prevalence of prolonged neurological symptoms among COVID-19 survivors and most of these afflictions and neurological disruptions persist as the long-term neurological sequelae of COVID-19 also known as "long COVID" or "post-COVID-19 syndrome" (Nepal et al, 2020;Song et al, 2020;Ahmed et al, 2022;Sanyaolu et al, 2022;Visco et al, 2022; Figure 1).…”

Covid-19 Ligos Ir Jos Kontrolės Sukeliamas Akių Pakenkimas

“…SARS-CoV-2 viruso sukelta COVID-19 liga, pirmą kartą aptikta 2019 m. pabaigoje Wuhan miestelyje Kinijoje, netrukus tapo pasauline pandemija, per pirmuosius metus nusinešusi net 1,4 milijono gyvybių. 2021 m. rugsėjo mėnesį šis skaičius pasiekė 5 milijonus [1] ir didėja toliau. Nors žinoma, jog pagrindinis viruso taikinys yra plaučiai [2], jis pažeidžia ir kitus organus.…”