Proceedings of Technological Advances in Science, Medicine and Engineering Conference 2021

Evaluation of Prevalent Ophthalmic Pathologies Associated with COVID-19: A systematic comparison with other common viral infections
Claire Hiott, Sindhu Ramesh, Manoj Govindarajulu, Tony Thomas, Timothy Moore, Muralikrishnan Dhanasekaran
Abstract

The new novel coronavirus, SARS-Cov 2 (COVID-19) significantly affect the heart and lungs. Here, the investigation will look beyond these organs to examine the effects of the disease on the eyes and the ophthalmic system. Thus, PubMed, Scopus and google scholar databases were examined up to April 2021, using suitable keywords.  Individual and pooled prevalence rates with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using the fixed- or random-effects model as appropriate. Identification of the independent parameters based on age, sex, and illness to understand the effect of COVID-19 on the different disease states of the eye/ophthalmic system will be carried out using the fixed and random-effects meta-analysis models as appropriate.  After further review of the most prominent ophthalmic disorders according to the WHO and CDC, few connections were made to COVID-19 and those disorders. The most frequent pathology in the eyes due to COVID-19 was conjunctivitis (pink eye). Conjunctivitis is an ocular manifestation of the COVID-19 and could be a potential additional indication that a patient may be infected with COVID-19.  Results show 16% of patients reported conjunctivitis as a symptom during their infection with the virus. There has been case reports of diplopia and strabismus that presented after COVID-19 infection, which could be related the palsy of the third cranial nerve, a rare patient finding in some COVID patients. Several patients with ocular symptoms have also presented with higher levels of other pro-inflammatory biomarkers such as procalcitonin, alluding to the idea that the pathophysiology may be due to inflammation caused by the virus. At this point, other, more serious ocular conditions such as glaucoma, cataracts, and macular degeneration have not been reported. Other common viral infections such as H1N1, HIV, and herpes have been loosely associated with ophthalmic symptoms. While conjunctivitis has presented as an opportunistic infection in these disease states, other ophthalmic pathologies such as retinitis, keratitis, and other opportunistic infections have occurred due to the mechanisms specific to each of the disease states individually. As the coronavirus pandemic is still ongoing, the mechanisms of these disorders in relation to COVID-19 and possible therapeutic interventions will be elucidated.


Last modified: 2021-06-29
Building: TASME Center
Room: General Hall
Date: July 3, 2021 - 01:30 PM – 01:40 PM

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