TY - JOUR
T1 - Retinal capillary involvement in early post-COVID-19 patients: a healthy controlled study
AU - Savastano, Maria Cristina
AU - Gambini, Gloria
AU - Crincoli, Emanuele
AU - Savastano, Alfonso
AU - De Vico, Umberto
AU - Falsini, Benedetto
AU - Minnella, Angelo Maria
AU - Landi, Francesco
AU - Pagano, Francesco Cosimo
AU - Rizzo, Stanislao
AU - Marano, Riccardo
AU - Savastano, Maria Cristina
AU - Gambini, Gloria
AU - Crincoli, Emanuele
AU - Savastano, Alfonso
AU - De Vico, Umberto
AU - Falsini, Benedetto
AU - Minnella, Angelo Maria
AU - Landi, Francesco
AU - Pagano, Francesco Cosimo
AU - Rizzo, Stanislao
AU - Marano, Riccardo
AU - Santoliquido, Angelo
AU - Santoro, Luca
AU - Nesci, Antonio
AU - Popolla, Valentina
AU - Settanni, Carlo Romano
AU - Lo Monaco, Maria Rita
AU - Martone, Anna Maria
AU - Marzetti, Emanuele
AU - Rota, Elisa
AU - Salerno, Andrea Maria
AU - Calvani, Riccardo
AU - Catalano, Lucio
AU - Savera, Giulia
AU - Fantoni, Massimo
AU - Tamburrini, Enrica
AU - Borghetti, Alberto
AU - Addolorato, Giovanni
AU - Franceschi, Francesco
AU - Mingrone, Geltrude
AU - Sanguinetti, Maurizio
AU - Cattani Franchi, Paola
AU - Bizzarro, Alessandra
AU - Lauria, Alessandra
AU - Passali, Giulio Cesare
AU - Paludetti, Gaetano
AU - Galli, Jacopo
AU - Longobardi, Ylenia
AU - Tricarico, Laura
AU - Buonsenso, Danilo
AU - Valentini, Piero
AU - De Rose, Cristina
AU - Richeldi, Luca
AU - Lombardi, Francesca
AU - Calabrese, Anna Chiara
AU - Sani, Gabriele
AU - Janiri, Delfina
AU - Larici, Anna Rita
AU - Marano, Riccardo
AU - Petricca, Luca
AU - Gigante, Lavinia
AU - Natale, Luigi
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Background Systemic vascular involvement in COVID-19 has been identified in several patients: not only endothelial derangement and increased permeability are reported to be early hallmarks of organ damage in patients with COVID-19 but are also the most important cause of worsening of clinical conditions in severe cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. There are several reasons to hypothesize that the eye, and the retina in particular, could be a target of organ damage in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods This cohort observational study analyzes OCT angiography and structural OCT of 70 post-COVID-19 patients evaluated at 1-month hospital discharge and 22 healthy control subjects. Primary outcomes were macular vessel density (VD) and vessel perfusion (VP); structural OCT features were evaluated as secondary outcomes. In addition, patients and healthy volunteers were evaluated for best corrected visual acuity, slit lamp photograph, and fundus photo image. Results VD and VP in 3 x 3 and 6 x 6 mm scans for SCP and DCP showed no significant differences between the groups. Similarly, CMT and GCL did not reveal significant differences between post-COVID-19 and healthy patients. Nine patients (12.9%) featured retinal cotton wool spots and 10 patients had vitreous fibrillary degeneration. The prevalence of epiretinal membrane and macular hole was similar in the two groups. One case of extra papillary focal retinal hemorrhage was reported in the post-COVID-19 group. Conclusions Macula and perimacular vessel density and perfusion resulted unaltered in mild post-COVID-19 patients at 1-month hospital discharge, suggesting no or minimal retinal vascular involvement by SARS-CoV-2.
AB - Background Systemic vascular involvement in COVID-19 has been identified in several patients: not only endothelial derangement and increased permeability are reported to be early hallmarks of organ damage in patients with COVID-19 but are also the most important cause of worsening of clinical conditions in severe cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. There are several reasons to hypothesize that the eye, and the retina in particular, could be a target of organ damage in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods This cohort observational study analyzes OCT angiography and structural OCT of 70 post-COVID-19 patients evaluated at 1-month hospital discharge and 22 healthy control subjects. Primary outcomes were macular vessel density (VD) and vessel perfusion (VP); structural OCT features were evaluated as secondary outcomes. In addition, patients and healthy volunteers were evaluated for best corrected visual acuity, slit lamp photograph, and fundus photo image. Results VD and VP in 3 x 3 and 6 x 6 mm scans for SCP and DCP showed no significant differences between the groups. Similarly, CMT and GCL did not reveal significant differences between post-COVID-19 and healthy patients. Nine patients (12.9%) featured retinal cotton wool spots and 10 patients had vitreous fibrillary degeneration. The prevalence of epiretinal membrane and macular hole was similar in the two groups. One case of extra papillary focal retinal hemorrhage was reported in the post-COVID-19 group. Conclusions Macula and perimacular vessel density and perfusion resulted unaltered in mild post-COVID-19 patients at 1-month hospital discharge, suggesting no or minimal retinal vascular involvement by SARS-CoV-2.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Macula
KW - OCT angiography
KW - Retinal vascular layers
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - COVID-19
KW - Macula
KW - OCT angiography
KW - Retinal vascular layers
KW - SARS-CoV-2
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/179103
U2 - 10.1007/s00417-020-05070-3
DO - 10.1007/s00417-020-05070-3
M3 - Article
SN - 0721-832X
SP - N/A-N/A
JO - Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology
JF - Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology
ER -