COVID-19 and the eye: a review

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Infectious Diseases
• Virology

Background:

• COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) has emerged as a global health crisis.
• Ocular manifestations are increasingly recognized as a potential sign of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the most common eye complaints and ocular manifestations in COVID-19 patients.
• To inform general practitioners and medical specialists about the significance of ocular symptoms in COVID-19.

Main Methods:

• A systematic review of 50 articles published between December 2019 and September 2020 was conducted.
• 26 articles met the inclusion criteria for analysis, encompassing various study designs.

Main Results:

• The prevalence of ocular manifestations in COVID-19 patients ranged from 0.8% to 31.6%.
• Acute conjunctivitis was the most frequently observed clinical finding.
• Ocular symptoms correlated with elevated acute phase reactants and disease severity.

Conclusions:

• Ocular manifestations are a notable feature in COVID-19 patients.
• These findings are associated with increased systemic disease severity.
• Physicians should consider COVID-19 in the differential diagnosis of acute conjunctivitis, even in the absence of systemic symptoms.