eye problems after covid recovery
Sci Total Environ. Invest. CAS Google Scholar. Highest levels of inflammation markers were seen in two hospitalized patients (9.5%) who received intensive care ventilation in mean (SD) for 8.5 (0.7) days because of ARDS. Of the seven patients (10.9%) who reported ocular pain at the moment of eye examination, all of them had this complaint previously to the COVID-19, and only one reported worsening pain in the acute phase. Department of Ophthalmology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Mathildenstrae 8, 80336, Munich, Germany, Victor Brantl,Benedikt Schworm,Gregor Weber,Johannes Schiefelbein,Thomas C. Kreutzer,Stylianos Michalakis,Jakob Siedlecki&Siegfried G. Priglinger, You can also search for this author in Pereira LA, Soares LCM, Nascimento PA, Cirillo LRN, Sakuma HT, Veiga GL d, et al. https://doi.org/10.1111/aos.14412. The virus poses a deadly threat to the elderly, as well as those who have pre-existing conditions. Internet Explorer). : conception and design, analysis and interpretation of data; drafting the manuscript, critical revision for intellectual content. Age-related alterations in retinal tissue perfusion and volumetric vessel density. Concerns about the interpretation of OCT and fundus findings in COVID-19 patients in recent lancet publication. 2023 BioMed Central Ltd unless otherwise stated. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. (International) B.V. B. Schworm: Speaker honoraria and travel expenses from Novartis Pharma GmbH and Topcon Corporation. California Privacy Statement, Corroborating the report from Zago Filho, the lesions in our patients were also self-limited, with a good visual prognosis28. An official website of the United States government. Chin J Ophthalmol. BMC Ophthalmology Wu P, Duan F, Luo C, Liu Q, Qu X, Liang L, et al. Ocul Immunol Inflamm. Tara Robertson took up gaming after completing her active military service and her new hobby came with a sharp increase in screen time. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa030747. In Serpico-19 diameters of the retinal vessels were examined unveiling higher vessel diameters compared to severity of the covid infection [29]. We found a lower vessel density for hospitalised patients in the surrounding quadrants of the fovea compared to control or non hospitalised patients. Ocular manifestations of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis. government site. HCA Lung Biological Network, Sungnak W, Huang N, Bcavin C, Berg M, Queen R, et al. Greenhalgh et al.15. It's caused by damage to the blood vessels of the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye (retina). A first step in understanding SARS pathogenesis. In very rare cases, acute inflammatory retinal vein occlusion, papillophlebitis or retinopathy have been observed. Lin Y, Jiang H, Liu Y, Rosa Gameiro G, Gregori G, Dong C, et al. Vinores SA, Wang Y, Vinores MA, Derevjanik NL, Shi A, Klein DA, Detrick B, Hooks JJ. Care 9, 54155418. Post-COVID recovery. 2020;181(2):271280.e8. The examination included the following methods: complete ophthalmological examination including evaluation of best-corrected visual acuity using an ETDRS chart at 4m with habitual correction, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, dilated funduscopy by indirect ophthalmoscopy and optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging and OCT angiography (Triton DRI OCT, Topcon Corporation, Itabashi, Japan). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/, https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa1211721, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20117248/. In a Brazilian study, the myopias prevalence varied from 10 to 35% (ages ranging from 30 to 59 years old), and hyperopia varied from 30 to 60%22. C. S. G. Symptoms in patients after acute COVID-19. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. By using this website, you agree to our Have you ever been diagnosed (by a clinician) as having dry eye syndrome? A complete ophthalmological exam including functional and imaging end points (including optical coherence tomography (OCT), OCT angiography) was performed. Secondly, in the acute phase of COVID-19, some patients show ocular symptoms including keratoconjunctivitis, epiphora and chemosis [14, 15]. Limitations Mean visual acuity was 1.040.2 on the right and 1.010.2 on the left eye. Limitations (International) B.V. B. Schworm: Speaker honoraria and travel expenses from Novartis Pharma GmbH and Topcon Corporation. Another danger to the eyes is mucormycosis, or black fungus, that has been seen among several Covid patients. Selective neuronal mitochondrial targeting in SARS-CoV-2 infection affects cognitive processes to induce brain fog and results in behavioral changes that favor viral survival. PubMedGoogle Scholar. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12886-021-02179-9, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12886-021-02179-9. Visual acuity, slit lamp, bio microscopy and fundoscopy, multimodal imaging findings. Lancet Lond Engl. Cell. FOIA Isolation of a Novel Coronavirus from a Man with Pneumonia in Saudi Arabia | NEJM. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. Google Scholar. They were evaluated with a complete ophthalmological examination that included presenting and distant best-corrected visual acuity (DBCVA) displayed in logMAR. In these first publications about PCS, we did not find any information about ocular manifestations persisting after COVID-19, and it is not possible to know if they were not there or if they were not reported, investigated or documented. However, a subsequent article and several letters to the authors raised serious doubts about the data interpretation in this publication, as the suggested pathologic changes most likely represent normal physiological variations and/or imaging artifacts, e.g. Since its first detection in Wuhan in December 2019, a novel strain entitled SARS-CoV-2 has erupted into a long-lasting global pandemic, that was declared as such by the WHO in March 2020 [7]. Insausti-Garca A, Reche-Sainz JA, Ruiz-Arranz C, Lpez Vzquez , Ferro-Osuna M. Papillophlebitis in a COVID-19 patient: inflammation and Hypercoagulable state. In animal experiments (cat, mice), various eye diseases such as uveitis, retinitis and optic neuritis could be triggered by betacoronaviruses indicating an direct uptake into the eye [27]. Statistical significance was calculated with two-sample t-test assuming different variances, Comparison of the parafoveal vessel density a TOPCON Display Grid parafoveal showing 5 parts b+c Box plots showing the comparison of each part of 14 not hospitalised (middle, cross-striped) and 26 hospitalised (right, lengthwise-striped) eyes compared to 50 control eyes (left, clear). Department of Ophthalmology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Mathildenstrae 8, 80336 Munich, Germany. Ocul Immunol Inflamm. Compared to control (mean age 52.0 SD 16.4) the non hospitalized group show a significant higher central vessel density. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently lists a number of common symptoms for COVID-19, but the majority of them are related to respiratory issues and fever, with no mention of eye issues. 80, 1416. PubMed BMJ. For the purpose of this prospective cross-sectional case study, 21 patients who had recovered from a COVID-19 infection were recruited. Fair allocation of scarce medical resources in the time of Covid-19. The mean age (SD) of the patients was 48.7 (18.3) years. J Pathol. A small proportion of patients presented mild-to-moderate disease and were not hospitalized during the diseases acute phase. Ocul. JAMA Ophthalmol. Research suggests that between one month and one year after having COVID-19, 1 in 5 people ages 18 to 64 has at least one medical condition that might be due to COVID-19. Three months after recovery, they were invited to participate voluntarily for this study during their follow-up in our clinic. Article In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles Table 1 presents the demographic and ocular data of the 64 individuals. Thanks to the experience of the health care workers (HCW) and the constant exchange in the scientific community, any knowledge about patient management, triaging and current therapy recommendations was quickly and adequately accessible and under constant validation [9, 10]. The ACE2 was found in the eye in addition to the Cornea [22] and conjunctiva [23], also in the retina [24] and aqueous humor [25]. A review of coronaviruses and ocular implications in humans and animals. 2020;68(11):237883. She said the illness caused convergence insufficiency, which is common in people who suffer from TBIs. Median [interquartile ranges (IQR)] presenting visual acuity was 0.1 (00.2) and BCVA 0 (00.1). 2001;119(2):17582. "Some of us are seeing tail; some of us are seeing trunk." Along with neurological symptoms,. Interestingly, one not hospitalized patient experienced extended loss of olfactory sensation for at least 1.5months. Other reported symptoms of the PCS also include shortness of breath, chest pain, headaches, neurocognitive difficulties, muscle pains and weakness, gastrointestinal upset, rashes, metabolic disruption, thromboembolic conditions, depression and other mental health conditions16,17. Personal consultation fees from Novartis Pharma GmbH and Bayer AG. Retinal vein occlusion When a vein in the retina becomes blocked, blood can't drain out like it should. statement and First studies on COVID-19 showed that ocular manifestations can occur during an acute infection with signs of keratoconjunctivitis in 15.631.6% and positive conjunctival swabs tests in only 3.35.2% [14, 15]. Ophthalmol. Post-acute COVID-19 syndrome. People talk about its impact on their mental health, their ability to breathe and their ability to make it through the day without a nap. The virus poses a deadly threat to the elderly, as well as those who have pre-existing conditions. Hospital of the Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich. The long-term visual recovery in these cases is variable, ranging from complete recovery to significant visual loss," said the doctor. Even the 2 patients with severe ARDS and intubation for 8.5 (0.7) days and extremely high inflammation values (Table2) did not show any signs of ocular manifestations. Isolation of a Novel Coronavirus from a Man with Pneumonia in Saudi Arabia | NEJM. As of January 2021, COVID-19 nears a 100 million cases worldwide [8]. Careers, Unable to load your collection due to an error. Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Article Case report details. The symptoms she experienced are what led her to book a comprehensive eye exam, but once she arrived, she found something unexpected; a fellow gamer leading her care. J. Thromb. dry and itchy skin. Regarding previous comorbidities, 15 (23.4%) had no previous comorbidities, 19 (29.7%) had systemic arterial hypertension, 19 (29.7%) diabetes mellitus, and 12 (18.7%) patients had dyslipidemia. 15, 539574. Visual acuity was the same as pre-COVID-19 in all eyes, and no traces of ocular inflammation, infiltration or microvascular insult could be found on OCT and OCT angiography. Sheehy, L. M. Considerations for postacute rehabilitation for survivors of COVID-19. official website and that any information you provide is encrypted To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Bloodretinal barrier breakdown in experimental coronavirus retinopathy: association with viral antigen, inflammation, and vegf in sensitive and resistant strains. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. Our local Ethics Committee (Comit de tica em Pesquisa do Hospital das Clnicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeiro Preto) approved the RECOVIDA cohort and this ophthalmological cohort and we have followed the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki. Ophthalmological examination of the previously hospitalized group took place 111.4 (23.2) days after recovery and discharge from the hospital, while non-hospitalized patients were examined after mean 123.4 (44.7) days. You do not have access to this content. 8600 Rockville Pike Int. Lipid Res. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-5728(01)00374-5. Nalbandian, A. et al. J. Intern. 28, 922925. 2015;9:2832. Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative, International Journal of Retina and Vitreous (2021). What are the specific eye symptoms that may arise after the COVID-19 vaccine? Ophthalmology 127, 14251427. 2020;9(4):E1138. Patients who had tested positive were either hospitalized or discharged into home quarantine via the emergency room. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjophthalmol-2020-317576 (2020). In March 2020, I was one of the first people diagnosed with COVID-19 in the state of Oregon. Google Scholar. And thirdly, the binding of the viral Spike protein via the ACE2 receptor and the transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2), responsible of SARS-CoV-2 entry in to the host cell [16, 17], found both in tissue of the eye. 10.1177/1120672120947591. The meanSD interval (days) between the onset of COVID-19 symptoms and the day the ophthalmology team evaluated them was 8236.4 days. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the Oftalmol. These include difficulty getting through normal activities . Such symptoms tend to be more common in patients with severe COVID-19 cases. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) of the right eye shows hyporreflectivity in the retinal pigment epithelium and ellipsoid layers, and discontinuation of photoreceptors outer segments (arrow). They have me wear paper glasses, kind of like 3-D glasses, and I complete movements while a light is concentrated on the glasses. Hyperinflammation with cytokine storm and stasis with hypoxia that activates coagulation mechanisms could very well cause retinal vasculitis, thromboembolic events or venous congestion resulting in a COVID-19 associated retinal vein occlusion, papillophlebitis or retinopathy [30, 38, 39]. All hospitalized Patients except one (7.1%) had characteristic bilateral multifocal ground-glass opacities findings in their lungs (refer to Table1 for their blood results). 3. Among the patients with COVID-19 in the acute phase of the disease, approximately 10% exhibited ocular symptoms, particularly related to ocular surface (conjunctivitis, red eye, foreign body sensation, dry eye, photophobia, blurry vision, itching, epiphora, ocular pain, and floaters)3,4,5,6. SARS-CoV-2 entry factors are highly expressed in nasal epithelial cells together with innate immune genes. Hypoxia, minor perfusion or vein occlusions can lead to Cotton Wool Spots (CWS), which had been also reported by another study 1 month after illness in 6 of 27 (22%) patients, pointing to an expired inflammation in the posterior segment of the eye in some patients [28]. Nature. We would like to thank all patients and the study team of our Clinic of Ophthalmology. The first fundus and optical coherence tomography (OCT) study on the matter reported in 12 adults suffering from an acute COVID-19 infection and showed hyperreflective lesions of ganglions cell and inner plexiform layers as sign for vascular damage [31]. This study with a small prospective cohort of 21 patients indicates that there might be no evidence of ocular complications at 3months after recovery from COVID-19, without previous eye involvement. Due to the randomized recruitment of patients, unfortunately no patients with acute phase ocular lesions were included in this study. Statistical significance (*** p0.001, ** p0.025) was calculated with two-sample t-test assuming different variances. 1) and the other in the RE. Siegfried G. Priglinger, Email: ed.nehcneum-inu.dem@regnilgirP.deirfgeiS. Bettach, E., Zadok, D., Weill, Y., Brosh, K. & Hanhart, J. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/1120672120947591. Long COVID symptoms persist at least three months after recovery from COVID, even after mild cases. Med. When I was sick, getting through to the other side without being hospitalized was my only goal. A review of coronaviruses and ocular implications in humans and animals. Dis. Xia J, Tong J, Liu M, Shen Y, Guo D. Evaluation of coronavirus in tears and Conjunctival secretions of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. PubMed Central Zhou P, Yang X-L, Wang X-G, Hu B, Zhang L, Zhang W, et al. Google Scholar. South Afr Med J Suid-Afr Tydskr Vir Geneeskd. Sixty-four patients (128 eyes) were evaluated 8236.4 days after the onset of COVIDs symptoms. Together, they were able to work through a treatment plan to help Mark on his road to recovery. Various ACE and ACE2 polymorphisms in people of African genetic descent are associated with increased plasma levels of angiotensin II, which reduce the erythrocyte colonization by P. falcifarum [18,19,20]. Before Global prevalence and major risk factors of diabetic retinopathy. In conclusion, 51.5% of patients surviving the acute phase of COVID-19 were clinically classified as severe and 37.5% as critical. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m3026 (2020). 2020;579(7798):2703. A new study suggests that some patients with long COVID have lasting nerve damage that appears to be caused by infection-triggered immune dysfunction, which is potentially treatable. (0. Virology: coronaviruses. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-021-01283-z (2021). Thank you for visiting nature.com. Opt. Nasiri, N. et al. Cite this article. Anterior segment biomicroscopy was unremarkable, except for dry eye disease, verified in 10.9% of them. Ocul. Google Scholar. the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in J Neuroimmunol. Even the 2 patients with severe ARDS and intubation for 8.5 (0.7) days and extremely high inflammation values (Table2) did not show any signs of ocular manifestations. Part of First, transmission via the eyes has been described via the lacrimal duct into the nose and upper airways [13]. J Clin Med. But it can lead to blindness. swollen ankles and feet. Rep. 8, 2076. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-20273-9 (2018). The most common symptom of an eye stroke is sudden, painless vision loss. 2021;14:162936. Color fundus pictures of both eyes showing white-yellowish dots (arrows). Once youve recovered from Covid-19 make sure to get your eyes checked; its an important part of taking care of yourself and getting back to who you were. -Mark from Oregon, When a friend told me they had COVID-19 I said, As soon as youre fine you need to go get your eyes checked. Struggling with the issues with my eyes, and all the things I couldnt do because my vision wasnt the same was frustrating and lonely. Two eyes in the hospitalised group were excluded because of epiretinal Membranes. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) was performed using the Heidelberg Spectralis HRA-OCT device (Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany). T. Kreutzer: Speaker honoraria from Alcon Pharma GmbH. All data and examination findings are stored in accordance with the data protection guidelines of the LMU. Regarding data related to dry eye disease and symptoms, Alves et al.18 showed a previous overall diagnosis of dry eye in 10.2% of the sample and the presence of severe symptoms in 4.9%. Ocular Fundus multimodal imaging of a 48-year-old man (critical case) 128 days after first symptoms of COVID-19. https://doi.org/10.18502/jovr.v16i1.8256 (2021). Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV): announcement of the coronavirus study group. Using Ocular Tomography to Identify Signs of Inflammation The study included 15 people who had. As the Pearson correlation for refractive errors between RE and LE was 0.85, we analyzed only the RE. Red eyes, ringing ears, sensitivity to light, trouble hearing: although a loss of taste and smell have become well-known sensory symptoms of COVID, accumulating research suggests that vision. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.02.052. Wang, X., Sahu, K. K. & Cerny, J. Coagulopathy, endothelial dysfunction, thrombotic microangiopathy and complement activation: Potential role of complement system inhibition in COVID-19. Long Covid is not just people taking time to recover from a stay in intensive care. The hospitalized patients were examined a mean of 111.423.2days after their recovery and discharge. Sore eyes - 16% of COVID-19 patients in the study reported this symptom. The mean superficial parafoveal vessel density for the central fovea was 21.84.3 for not hospitalized and 21.12.9 for hospitalized patients. Not hospitalized patients were examined a mean of 123.444.7days after their first positive COVID-19 test or positive test for IgG against SARS-CoV-2. Selective neuronal mitochondrial targeting in SARS-CoV-2 infection affects cognitive processes to induce brain fog and results in behavioral changes that favor viral survival. What I thought was allergies turned into a fever, lightheadedness, blurred vision, and more I had a severe case of COVID-19. Bras. Most people with a Covid-19 i nfection tend to make a full recovery within 12 weeks of developing symptoms. 9, 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2415-9-8 (2009). Login to gain access to member-only content. TFOS DEWS II diagnostic methodology report. https://doi.org/10.1111/opo.12164 (2015). Zhou P, Yang X-L, Wang X-G, Hu B, Zhang L, Zhang W, Si H-R, Zhu Y, Li B, Huang C-L, Chen H-D, Chen J, Luo Y, Guo H, Jiang R-D, Liu M-Q, Chen Y, Shen X-R, Wang X, Zheng X-S, Zhao K, Chen Q-J, Deng F, Liu L-L, Yan B, Zhan F-X, Wang Y-Y, Xiao G-F, Shi Z-L. A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin. Even beyond acute infection the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the eyes is enormously [32, 33], but Data on the long-term effect of COVID-19 on visual function and ocular anatomy after infection are lacking at the moment. 2020;26(5):6817. Med. Statistical significance (*** p0.001, ** p0.025) was calculated with two-sample t-test assuming different variances. Other reported systemic symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pain, headaches, neurocognitive difficulties, muscle pains and weakness, gastrointestinal upset, rashes, metabolic disruption (such as poor control of diabetes), thromboembolic conditions, depression, and other mental health conditions10,11,12. COVID-19 has been heavily linked to conjunctivitis and new studies have even found evidence that the virus creates nodules on the back of a patient's eyes, in some even after recovery. Learn more recovery and tips for feeling better after COVID-19. No microaneurysms, areas of non-perfusion or other microvascular anomalies were found in any of the eyes. 2003;362(9393):13538. But it'll still take time to recover. This study has several limitations. 2020. Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Cucinotta, D. & Vanelli, M. WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic. 2020. I was in severe pain and had frequent migraines. defined PCS as extending beyond three weeks from the onset of first symptoms and chronic COVID-19 as extending beyond 12 weeks. Only subtle retinal changes with a good visual prognosis may be directly related to COVID-19 infection in the medium-term. Epidemiology and cause of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Guangdong, Peoples republic of China, in February, 2003. Nevertheless, we believe that these results are of interest for the scientific community as late retinal damage might be rarely. N Engl J Med. Prog. J. Fam. For her, eye health is a necessity to stay at the top of her game. We would like to thank all patients and the study team of our Clinic of Ophthalmology. V. Brantl and B. Schworm wrote the paper, G. Weber, J. Schiefelbein examined patients, V. Brantl prepared figures and tables, T. Kreutzer, S. Michalakis, J. Siedlecki and S. Priglinger gave final supportive assistance. Characteristics of ocular findings of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Hubei Province, China. From 21 patients with a mean (SD) age of 48.7years (18.3), 10 (48.3%) were male and 14 (66.6%) had been hospitalized in our Department of Internal Medicine of the University because of COVID-19 for (SD) mean 9.4 (6.1) days. 4.1K views, 50 likes, 28 loves, 154 comments, 48 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from 7th District AME Church: Thursday Morning Opening Session 2020;68(10):22913. Ophthalmology 127, 982983. While new information is still being discovered about the disease to this day, one year ago, less than a week after the World Health Organization declared the pandemic, I was dealing with the virus and fear of the unknown. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa1211721 (Accessed 22 8 2020 ). Only two eyes of two patients presented DBCVA>0.5 logMAR due to cataract diagnosis. Br. They were also asked about the presence of blurry vision and ocular pain at the moment of the ophthalmologic examination and if these symptoms were previous to COVID-19 diagnosis or if they appeared simultaneously with COVID-19 and persisted until the exam day. Immunol. These lesions showed hyporreflectivity of the retinal pigment epithelium and ellipsoid layers and discontinuation of photoreceptors outer segments in SD-OCT, and transmission hyperfluorescence in fluorescein angiography. Indian J Ophthalmol. Invernizzi A, Torre A, Parrulli S, Zicarelli F, Schiuma M, Colombo V, Giacomelli A, Cigada M, Milazzo L, Ridolfo A, Faggion I, Cordier L, Oldani M, Marini S, Villa P, Rizzardini G, Galli M, Antinori S, Staurenghi G, Meroni L. Retinal findings in patients with COVID-19: results from the SERPICO-19 study. Nioi M, Napoli PE, Lobina J, Fossarello M, dAloja E. COVID-19 and Italian healthcare workers from the initial sacrifice to the MRNA vaccine: pandemic Chrono-history, epidemiological data, ethical dilemmas, and future challenges. Prior to 2019, coronaviruses, first discovered in 1968 [1], caused two epidemic outbreaks: In Hong Kong in 2003, in the form of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) [24] and in Saudi Arabia in 2012, in form of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) [5, 6]. Kidney disease. J Med Virol. Google Scholar. Initially not the focus of attention, the eyes have become one of the more interesting organs affected by COVID-19 for three reasons. Coronavirus can certainly enter the body through the eyes (as well as the nose and mouth). Petersen, E. et al. HHS Vulnerability Disclosure, Help Manage cookies/Do not sell my data we use in the preference centre. CAS Regarding diabetic retinopathy, its frequency was 52.7% in our sample, which is a higher frequency than the overall prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in a previously diabetic population (34.6%)27. This study was approved by the ethics committee of Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany and held to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki 1964 or its later amendments. Prior to 2019, coronaviruses, first discovered in 1968 [1], caused two epidemic outbreaks: In Hong Kong in 2003, in the form of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) [2,3,4] and in Saudi Arabia in 2012, in form of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) [5, 6]. J. Siedlecki: Speaker honoraria and travel reimbursement from Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, Novartis Pharma GmbH, Bayer AG, Pharm-Allergan GmbH, Oculentis OSD Medical GmbH. Wang Y, Detrick B, Yu ZX, Zhang J, Chesky L, Hooks JJ.