A case of retinal vascular involvement in a 6-year-old patient with Covid-19

This study evaluated fundus changes in a 6-year-old child who contracted Sars-CoV-2 without developing symptoms of the disease.

The patient underwent a complete ophthalmic evaluation, which included assessment of visual acuity with and without correction, extensive ophthalmological examination, cicloplegic refraction by retinoscopy and funduscopic examination, OCT, and angio-OCT examination.

Fundoscopic examination in a young patient with previous Sars-CoV-2 infection showed marked vascular tortuosity, evident both at the posterior pole and retinal periphery, especially on the arterial vasculature, and cotton wool spots along the retinal vessels, highlightable also at OCT and angio-OCT examination. These alterations persist at a 6-month follow-up.

In COVID-19 infection, even in asymptomatic pediatric patients, vasculitis develops also affecting the retinal vessels, appreciable on fundus examination. A thorough eye examination in all COVID-19 patients with close follow-up is therefore important. This is the first case report on retinal changes in a pediatric patient.