Abstract

Background: COVID-19 pandemic has many clinical presentations not related to respiratory symptoms. Ocular symptoms are reported in many cases and conjunctivitis is now considered as one of the well-established symptoms in COVID-19 patients. However, the ocular pathologies in COVID-19 patients are not well studied. In this study, we reviewed the literature to stand on the epidemiology and clinical presentation of ocular pathologies in COVID-19 patients.

Methods: We searched the MEDLINE database using PubMed. Two independent reviewers reviewed the resulting papers and reviewed them based on our inclusion criteria.

Results: Based on the review results, many studies reported the presence of viral DNA in tears and conjunctival swabs. These studies implied a conjunctival route of infection to the respiratory system. The presence of ocular symptoms indicated a worse prognosis. The most common reported ocular diseases were conjunctivitis and ocular surface diseases. However, there is still no clear and proved evidence of the pathogenesis of these diseases.

Conclusion: The exact epidemiology and pathogenesis of the ocular diseases in COVID-19 patients is not clear and was not investigated thoroughly in the recent literature. However, many reports indicated the high prevalence of conjunctivitis and ocular surface infection in these patients. More studies are needed to identify the underlying pathogenesis of ocular diseases.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-COV-2; Conjunctivitis; Retinitis; Ocular Diseases; Eye Infection

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