Tomographic Findings in the Retina of Unvaccinated Patients with COVID Pneumonia: Prospective Longitudinal Study

Carlos Enrique Monera Lucas, Manuel Vicente Baeza Diaz, Jose A. Quesada (), Adriana Lopez-Pineda, Cristian Fernandez Martinez, Jose Juan Martinez Toldos and Vicente F. Gil-Guillén
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Carlos Enrique Monera Lucas: Retina Unit, Ophthalmology Service, General University Hospital of Elche, 03203 Elche, Spain
Manuel Vicente Baeza Diaz: Retina Unit, Ophthalmology Service, General University Hospital of Elche, 03203 Elche, Spain
Jose A. Quesada: Clinical Medicine Department, Miguel Hernandez University, 03550 San Juan de Alicante, Spain
Adriana Lopez-Pineda: Clinical Medicine Department, Miguel Hernandez University, 03550 San Juan de Alicante, Spain
Cristian Fernandez Martinez: Retina Unit, Ophthalmology Service, General University Hospital of Elche, 03203 Elche, Spain
Jose Juan Martinez Toldos: Retina Unit, Ophthalmology Service, General University Hospital of Elche, 03203 Elche, Spain
Vicente F. Gil-Guillén: Clinical Medicine Department, Miguel Hernandez University, 03550 San Juan de Alicante, Spain

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 9, 1-10

Abstract: There is no definitive evidence on the extent of SARS-CoV-2’s effect on the retina. This study aims to determine if the natural history of SARS-CoV-2 infection affects tomographic findings in the retina of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. This is a prospective cohort study of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia. The patients underwent ophthalmological explorations and optical coherence tomography during the acute phase of the infection and at a follow-up 12 weeks later. The primary outcomes were the central retinal thickness and central choroidal thickness, which were compared longitudinally and with non-COVID-19 historical controls. No statistically relevant differences were observed in the longitudinal analysis of the thickness of the central retina ( p = 0.056), central choroid ( p = 0.99), retinal nerve fiber layer ( p = 0.21), or ganglion cell layer ( p = 0.32). Patients with acute COVID-19 pneumonia showed significantly greater central retinal thickness than non-COVID controls ( p = 0.006). In conclusion, tomographic measures of the retina and choroid are not influenced by the phase of COVID-19 infection and remain stable during 12 weeks. The central retinal thickness may increase in the acute phase of COVID-19 pneumonia, but more epidemiological studies using optical coherence tomography in the early stages of the disease are needed.

Keywords: eye; retina; COVID-19; coronavirus infection; pneumonia; tomography; X-ray computed (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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