ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the identification of new disease phenotypes associated with infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This includes multiple neuro-ophthalmological sequelae, which have been associated with COVID-19 infection and administration of COVID-19 vaccines. Some of these associations have a plausible pathophysiological link to the infection or vaccination but true causation has yet to be established. We review the literature for associations reported between COVID-19 infection or vaccination and neuro-ophthalmic sequelae and review the potential pathophysiological processes that may underlie these associations.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the identification of new disease phenotypes associated with infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This includes multiple neuro-ophthalmological sequelae, which have been associated with COVID-19 infection and administration of COVID-19 vaccines. Some of these associations have a plausible pathophysiological link to the infection or vaccination but true causation has yet to be established. The billions of cases of COVID-19 would wide coupled with the billions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered worldwide means that some of these "rare” neuro-ophthalmic sequelae will happen in temporal association with COVID-19 infection or vaccination due to random chance alone. We review the literature for associations reported between COVID-19 infection or vaccination and neuro-ophthalmic sequelae and review the potential pathophysiological processes which may underly these associations.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Wearing face masks has been an essential part of healthcare workers' lives since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aims to determine the association between prolonged face mask-wearing and dry eye disorder (DED) among female nurses. METHODS: An online questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, between May 2021 and February 2022. It covered sociodemographic data, conditions associated with ocular irritation, and questions related to mask-wearing duration. The Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) survey was used to measure DED severity. Binary logistic regression analysis was done and Odd's ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported. RESULTS: A total of 266 female nurses responded to this study. The majority of the sample (71.1%) fell in the normal-mild DED category (OSDI 0-22), while (28.9%) were categorized as the moderate-severe DED category (OSDI >22). We found a significant independent association of dry eye disorder with wearing a mask for >6 hours/day (OR 2.066, 95% CI: 1.083-3.944). Other significant predictors of DED in this study were wearing corrective eyeglasses (OR 2.382, 95% CI: 1.296-4.376) and having rheumatoid arthritis (OR 17.289, 95% CI: 1.794-166.7). CONCLUSION: Wearing a face mask for > 6 hours/day was significantly associated with moderate to severe DED among female nursing staff. Ophthalmologists should be aware of this adverse effect in order to promote ways to relieve this condition.