Ocular manifestations in post-coronavirus disease-2019 patients in a tertiary care institute in North-East India: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: There are various studies on coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) from globally which are mainly focused on respiratory and other medical manifestations of the disease. There are few studies on ocular manifestations in COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 patients. Objectives: We aim to investigate the ocular manifestations of hospitalized post-COVID-19 patients at a tertiary care institute in the North Eastern part of India. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among hospitalized post-COVID-19 patients 18 years and above during July 1, 2021–December 31, 2021. A universal sampling method was employed. A structured pro forma was used for data collection along with detailed ocular examination. Descriptive statistics were generated from collected data. Approval of the study was obtained from the institutional ethics committee. Results: A total of 105 patients were included in the study with ages ranging from 18 to 85 years and males constituting 63.8%. Around two-thirds of the patients (70, 66.7%) had not received any vaccination. Chest X-ray showed bilateral moderate consolidation in 59 (56.2%) patients. Twelve (11.4%) patients developed ocular signs and symptoms. Dry eye, redness of the eye, dimness of vision, itching, blurring of vision, and discharge from the eyes are some of the symptoms encountered. Two patients developed subconjunctival hemorrhage, one patient had a retinal hemorrhage and exposure keratopathy was detected in one patient. Conclusion: In this study, 11.4% of hospitalized post-COVID-19 patients have ocular manifestations. Post-COVID-19 syndrome could affect the eyes thus necessitating meticulous follow-up of patients who recovered from COVID-19.