Ocular manifestations in SARS COVID admitted patients: A hospital-based study

Abstract

CONTEXT: Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic.AIMS: The aim of this study is to assess the ocular manifestations of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) admitted in KLES Dr. Prabhakar Kore Hospital and MRC, KAHER, Belagavi, Karnataka, India.SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional study.SUBJECTS AND METHODS: It was a cross-sectional study, which included 100 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 (reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction) and were admitted from August 2020 to September 2020 in KLES Dr. Prabhakar Kore and MRC Hospital, KAHER, Belagavi, Karnataka, India. Approval from the ethical committee was obtained, and informed consent was taken from all the patients included in this study.STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Statistical analysis was performed using statistical software R and Microsoft Excel. Categorical variables were given in the form of frequency (%).RESULTS: A variety of ocular symptoms which included conjunctival congestion and dry eyes were noted. Of the 100 patients assessed, 43 patients had new-onset ocular symptoms. In these 43 patients, the history of onset of ocular complaints and the day of onset of COVID symptoms was analyzed, and it was found that 35 patients (81.39%) complained of their ocular symptoms at the same time as they started experiencing the symptoms of COVID.CONCLUSIONS: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 is thought to be transmitted from person to person mainly through respiratory droplets or close contact. The ocular surface is exposed to the outside environment, which may be a potential gateway for pathogens such as viruses to invade the human body. Furthermore, eye rubbing is another high-risk factor for virus transmission, which has been confirmed in adenovirus-induced conjunctivitis. It is important for all health-care workers to be updated about these symptoms in this regard.