TY - JOUR
T1 - COVID-19 and the eye
T2 - Systemic and laboratory risk factors for retinopathy and detection of tear film SARS-CoV-2 RNA with a triplex RT-PCR assay
AU - Shantha, Jessica G.
AU - Fashina, Tolulope
AU - Stittleburg, Victoria
AU - Randleman, Casey
AU - Ward, Laura
AU - Regueiro, Matt
AU - Krakow, David
AU - Linderman, Susanne L.
AU - Drews-Botsch, Carolyn
AU - Ahmed, Rafi
AU - Waggoner, Jesse
AU - Yeh, Steven
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Shantha et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2022/11
Y1 - 2022/11
N2 - Purpose To assess hospitalized COVID-19 inpatients for the prevalence of retinopathy and tear film SARS-CoV-2 RNA, and associated risk factors for their detection. Methods Hospitalized COVID-19 patients underwent dilated ophthalmic examination and fundus photography. Conjunctival swabs were assessed for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR via a triple target assay. We assessed the relationships of retinopathy with clinical outcomes, systemic risk factors and laboratory data. Results The median age was 59.5 years and 29 (48%) were female. Retinopathy associated with COVID-19 was observed in 12 of 60 patients (20%). The median age of patients with COVID-19 retinopathy was 51.5 compared to 62.5 years in individuals without retinopathy (p = 0.01). Median BMI was 34.3 in patients with retinopathy versus 30.9 in those without retinopathy (p = 0.04). Fifteen of 60 patients (25%) tested SARS-CoV-2 RNA-positive in their tear film without a relationship with timing of illness and hospitalization. The N2 gene was particularly sensitive with 18 of 19 eyes (94.7%) showing N2-positivity, including 2 patients with alpha variant-positivity (B.1.1.7). Conclusion Retinopathy was observed in 20% of patients hospitalized for COVID-19. Patients with retinopathy were more likely to be younger and have higher BMI than hospitalized patients without retinopathy. Tear film SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in 25% of patients. The relationship of obesity and age with retinopathy requires further investigation.
AB - Purpose To assess hospitalized COVID-19 inpatients for the prevalence of retinopathy and tear film SARS-CoV-2 RNA, and associated risk factors for their detection. Methods Hospitalized COVID-19 patients underwent dilated ophthalmic examination and fundus photography. Conjunctival swabs were assessed for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR via a triple target assay. We assessed the relationships of retinopathy with clinical outcomes, systemic risk factors and laboratory data. Results The median age was 59.5 years and 29 (48%) were female. Retinopathy associated with COVID-19 was observed in 12 of 60 patients (20%). The median age of patients with COVID-19 retinopathy was 51.5 compared to 62.5 years in individuals without retinopathy (p = 0.01). Median BMI was 34.3 in patients with retinopathy versus 30.9 in those without retinopathy (p = 0.04). Fifteen of 60 patients (25%) tested SARS-CoV-2 RNA-positive in their tear film without a relationship with timing of illness and hospitalization. The N2 gene was particularly sensitive with 18 of 19 eyes (94.7%) showing N2-positivity, including 2 patients with alpha variant-positivity (B.1.1.7). Conclusion Retinopathy was observed in 20% of patients hospitalized for COVID-19. Patients with retinopathy were more likely to be younger and have higher BMI than hospitalized patients without retinopathy. Tear film SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in 25% of patients. The relationship of obesity and age with retinopathy requires further investigation.
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U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0277301
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0277301
M3 - Article
C2 - 36350841
AN - SCOPUS:85141467452
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 17
JO - PloS one
JF - PloS one
IS - 11 November
M1 - e0277301
ER -