The key COVID-19 findings in ophthalmology, distilled into a clear, readable brief. The evidence is here whenever you want to go deeper.
INSIDE THIS MONITOR
30cited sources
4available findings
Study findings updated
AI-assisted evidence summary. For general information. These findings are not individual medical advice or a clinician endorsement.
THE SHORT VERSION
What’s worth knowing.
The key findings, what they mean, and the context that matters.
THE HEADLINE TAKEAWAY11-36%
Eye manifestations were reported in 11-36% of COVID-19 patients
A systematic review and meta-analysis reported ocular manifestations in 11-36% of patients with COVID-19, ranging from conjunctivitis to retinal vascular changes.
This broad outcome combines different eye conditions; their timing, severity, and individual frequencies are not available in this summary.
See the evidence
of COVID-19 patients develop ocular manifestations
11-36%
Nasiri N, et al. Ocular Manifestations of COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Ophthalmic Vis Res. 2021;16(1):103-112.
Retinal nerve fiber layer thinning was reported in recovered COVID-19 patients
15-30%
The study reported retinal nerve fiber layer thinning in 15-30% of recovered COVID-19 patients on optic nerve and macular optical coherence tomography.
The finding applies to the recovered patients studied. Timing, visual impact, and any comparison group are not available in this summary.
See the evidence
RNFL Thinning
15-30% Prevalence in recovered patients
Burgos-Blasco B, et al. Optic nerve and macular optical coherence tomography in recovered COVID-19 patients. Eur J Ophthalmol. 2021;31(6):2948-2954.
Aiello F, et al. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and eye: A review of ophthalmic manifestations of COVID-19. Eur J Ophthalmol. 2022;32(3):1385-1403.
Original source link unavailable
[4]
Finsterer J, et al. COVID-19-associated cranial nerve neuropathy: A systematic review. Bosn J Basic Med Sci. 2021;21(5):525-531.
Original source link unavailable
[5]
Abrishami M, et al. Optical coherence tomography angiography findings in COVID-19: A systematic review. Can J Ophthalmol. 2021;56(6):361-369.
Original source link unavailable
[6]
Invernizzi A, et al. Retinal findings in patients with COVID-19: Results from the SERPICO-19 study. EClinicalMedicine. 2020;27:100550.
Original source link unavailable
[7]
Wu P, et al. Characteristics of Ocular Findings of Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Hubei Province, China. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2020;138(5):575-578.
Original source link unavailable
[8]
Marinho PM, et al. Retinal findings in patients with COVID-19. Lancet. 2020;395(10237):1610.
Original source link unavailable
[9]
Savastano A, et al. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in the retina and assessment of retinal changes after COVID-19. Ophthalmol Retina. 2021;5(12):1256-1263.
Original source link unavailable
[10]
Burgos-Blasco B, et al. Optic nerve and macular optical coherence tomography in recovered COVID-19 patients. Eur J Ophthalmol. 2021;31(6):2948-2954.
Original source link unavailable
[11]
Landecho MF, et al. COVID-19 retinal microangiopathy as an in vivo biomarker of systemic vascular disease? J Intern Med. 2021;289(1):116-120.
Original source link unavailable
[12]
Turker IC, et al. Optical coherence tomography angiography findings in patients with COVID-19. Can J Ophthalmol. 2021;56(2):83-87.
Original source link unavailable
[13]
Dinkin M, et al. COVID-19 presenting with ophthalmoparesis from cranial nerve palsy. Neurology. 2020;95(5):221-223.
Original source link unavailable
[14]
Bettach E, et al. COVID-19-associated uveitis: A case series and review of the literature. Rheumatology. 2021;60(SI):SI29-SI36.
Original source link unavailable
[15]
Virgo J, et al. Acute macular neuroretinopathy following COVID-19 infection. Eye (Lond). 2020;34(12):2163-2165.
Original source link unavailable
[16]
Kaulen LD, et al. Neurological complications of COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines: A population-based study. J Neurol. 2022;269(11):5987-5999.
Original source link unavailable
[17]
Hashemi N, et al. Risk of retinal vein occlusion after COVID-19: A self-controlled case series study. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis. 2022;31(8):106590.
Original source link unavailable
[18]
Al-Aly Z, et al. Acute and postacute sequelae associated with SARS-CoV-2 reinfection. Nat Med. 2022;28(11):2398-2405.
Original source link unavailable
[19]
Davis HE, et al. Long COVID: major findings, mechanisms and recommendations. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2023;21(3):133-146.
Original source link unavailable
[20]
Gambini G, et al. Ocular surface impairment after COVID-19. Cornea. 2021;40(11):1454-1460.
Original source link unavailable
[21]
Inomata T, et al. Association between dry eye disease and COVID-19. Ophthalmol Ther. 2022;11(1):67-80.
Original source link unavailable
[22]
Sen M, et al. Epidemiology, clinical profile, management, and outcome of COVID-19-associated rhino-orbital-cerebral mucormycosis in 2826 patients in India. Lancet Infect Dis. 2021;21(12):1636-1644.
Original source link unavailable
[23]
Xia J, et al. Evaluation of coronavirus in tears and conjunctival secretions of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. J Med Virol. 2020;92(6):589-594.
Original source link unavailable
[24]
Kumar K, et al. SARS-CoV-2 detection in the ocular surface: A systematic review. BMJ Open Ophthalmol. 2020;5(1):e000574.
Original source link unavailable
[25]
Guan WJ, et al. Clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 in China. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(18):1708-1720.
Original source link unavailable
[26]
Sen S, et al. Neuro-ophthalmological manifestations of COVID-19: A review. Curr Eye Res. 2021;46(8):1103-1115.
Original source link unavailable
[27]
Dumitrascu OM, et al. Acute ophthalmic artery occlusion in a COVID-19 patient. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis. 2020;29(8):104870.
Original source link unavailable
[28]
Pirraglia MP, et al. Retinal involvement and ocular findings in COVID-19 pneumonia patients. Sci Rep. 2020;10(1):17419.
Original source link unavailable
[29]
Casagrande M, et al. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 genomic and subgenomic RNA in retina and optic nerve of patients with COVID-19. Br J Ophthalmol. 2022;106(9):1313-1317.
Original source link unavailable
[30]
Hu K, et al. Ophthalmic manifestations of coronavirus (COVID-19). StatPearls [Internet]. Updated 2023.
Original source link unavailable
ABOUT THIS MONITOR
Understanding includes the limits.
This is an AI-assisted evidence summary, not a clinician endorsement. Read each original paper for its complete methods, population and limitations. Different studies can ask different questions and report different kinds of results.
Dates marked “added” describe when a finding entered this monitor, not when the study was published or clinically reviewed. Personal health and treatment decisions belong in a conversation with a qualified clinician.