Relationship Between COVID-19 and Retinal Artery Occlusions

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Infectious Diseases
• Cardiovascular Medicine

Background:

• The association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection or vaccination and retinal artery occlusions (RAOs) is debated.
• Both COVID-19 and its vaccination have been implicated in thrombin formation, a known cause of RAOs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between COVID-19 infection/vaccination and the occurrence of RAOs.
• To analyze patient demographics, timing of events, and visual acuity outcomes in RAO cases potentially linked to COVID-19.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing case reports investigating RAO incidence following COVID-19 infection or vaccination.
• Analysis of reported average ages, time from diagnosis/vaccination to symptom onset, and visual acuity outcomes.

Main Results:

• RAOs occurred in patients with a mean age of 48.7 years (central RAO) and 41.3 years (branch RAO) post-infection, and 54.7 years (CRAO) and 62.3 years (BRAO) post-vaccination.
• Mean time to symptom onset varied from 7.3 days (post-vaccination CRAO) to 48.3 days (post-infection BRAO).
• Initial and final visual acuities varied, with some data unavailable for branch RAOs.

Conclusions:

• Current evidence is insufficient to definitively establish a causal link between COVID-19 or its vaccine and RAOs.
• The possibility of such a relationship cannot be excluded, necessitating further investigation.
• Understanding this association is crucial given the potential for future pandemics.