Evaluation of choroidal thickness with OCT in COVID-19 patients with high D-dimer levels.

To evaluate retinal and choroidal thickness with optical coherence tomography (OCT) to detect retinal and choroidal pathologies in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with high D-dimer levels. Thirty patients who were hospitalized in the intensive care unit due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and whose D-dimer levels were high during this period, who applied to the internal medicine outpatient clinic between 15 and 30 days after discharge, and 30 healthy volunteers with similar age and gender as the control group was included in the study. After full ophthalmological examination, central foveal and choroidal thicknesses were evaluated using optical coherence tomography. Statistical analysis of the study data demonstrated that there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of age or gender (p > 0.05). There was also no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of central foveal thickness, central choroidal thickness, or nasal 500, nasal 1500, temporal 500, or temporal 500 micron distances (p > 0.05 for all parameters). Choroidal and retinal vascular thicknesses were not affected in the short term in COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit.

Assessment of the frequency and biochemical parameters of conjunctivitis in COVID-19 and other viral and bacterial conditions

Objectives: We compared the laboratory and clinical symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), other viral (beside COVID-19), and bacterial conjunctivitis patients with the values of controls. Methods: Twenty COVID-19, 15 other viral, 15 bacterial patients, and 15 control group were included in the study. COVID-19 was diagnosed with the real time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction while the indirect immunofluorescent antibody test was used in the detection of other viral agents. Bacterial agents were determined with the detection of the agent. The ophthalmologic examination of all cases was carried out by direct penlight, and the anterior segment evaluation was performed. The laboratory findings of all cases included in the study were obtained from the hospital records. Results: It was determined that 5% conjunctivitis and 5% diplopia developed in patients diagnosed with COVID-19, 20% conjunctivitis developed in patients due to other viral agents, and 66.6% conjunctivitis developed in patients due to bacterial agents. Conclusion: The incidence of conjunctivitis in COVID-19 patients was lower than in other viral and bacterial groups. Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and C-reactive protein come to the forefront as precious parameters with high specificity and sensitivity that might be useful to distinguish these diseases.