For the entirety of 2020, our lives have been dominated by COVID-19, the novel coronavirus linked to 64.5 million cases and 1.49 million deaths across the globe. In the United States alone, there are 14 million diagnoses with an associated 274,000 deaths. When news of COVID-19 first broke, people were warned about a variety of symptoms from fever to loss of smell and taste. However, as the year continued, additional symptoms emerged. Now, data shared at the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s annual meeting, AAO 2020 Virtual, suggests a potential link between COVID-19 and a rare, but serious, eye infection called endophthalmitis.

AAO 2020 Virtual

During the annual meetings, researchers shared data from three New York-based patients, all aged 60 or over. These patients, treated at Northwell Health over a 2-month period, first presented with keratitis, inflammation and an ulcer on the cornea. However, their conditions quickly worsened, progressing into endophthalmitis. At the same time, these patients were diagnosed with COVID-19. In one patient, their condition was so severe that they had to undergo enucleation. Another patient unfortunately died from coronavirus.

On one hand, doctors say that there is not a direct link between COVID-19 and eye infections. However, keratitis does not typically lead to endophthalmitis except in rare cases. In particular, it does not usually lead to the more dangerous condition this rapidly. In fact, a study published in Opthalmology suggests that over a 15-year period, only 27 out of 9,934 eyes (0.27%) went from keratitis to endophthalmitis. For three cases to suddenly appear in a COVID epicenter, within just 8 weeks, is alarming and warrants further investigation.

While researchers do not want people to believe that COVID-19 causes eye infections, there does seem to be some relationship between the conditions. Further research to understand this could benefit patients in the future.

Endophthalmitis

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO):

Endophthalmitis is an infection of the tissues or fluids inside the eyeball. It is an urgent medical emergency [and] can blind you if it’s not treated quickly.

There are two types of endophthalmitis: exogenous (when bacteria, fungi, or damage cause the infection) or endogenous (when the infection spreads to the eye from another area of the body). Symptoms include:

• Worsening eye pain
• Eye redness
• Swollen or painful eyelids
• Blurry vision
• White/yellow pus or eye discharge

Read the source article at Newswise.