Prosopagnosia (face blindness) and child health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prosopagnosia or 'face blindness' is the inability to recognise people's faces. There are two types: congenital or developmental prosopagnosia, which is the most common, and acquired prosopagnosia, which may occur secondary to brain tumours, stroke or other brain disorders. The authors of this article explored if mask wearing as a result of the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may affect social and developmental outcomes in children, including the development of prosopagnosia. Limited research on this topic is available and, although some relevant publications were found, no definitive evidence of mask-induced prosopagnosia in children was identified. However, nurses should be aware of this issue and discuss coping strategies to support children with the condition. Longitudinal studies on outcomes in children from different age groups who grew up during the COVID-19 pandemic will provide further insight.

Bilateral blindness in a young male of rhino-orbital-cerebral mucormycosis: A case report.

The storm of COVID-19-associated mucormycosis (CAM) has not yet settled, and it has proven itself a disfiguring and potentially life-threatening disease, complicating the course of COVID-19 infection. Mucormycosis is a rare but devastating fungal infection caused by filamentous fungi of the family Mucoraceae. We report a rare case of a 37-year-old diabetic male with bilateral rhino-orbital-cerebral mucormycosis (ROCM) where it leads to bilateral central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) as manifestation of the disease. Bilateral CRAO secondary to ROCM is extremely rare. A strong suspicion of CAM in uncontrolled diabetics can result in early diagnosis and management.

Vision Loss Secondary to COVID-19 Associated Bilateral Cerebral Venous Sinus Thromboses.

A young, morbidly obese woman with recent SARS-CoV-2 infection requiring hospitalization presented with visual and neurologic complications secondary to bilateral cerebral venous sinus thromboses. With elevated intracranial pressure and severe papilledema, she rapidly progressed to complete bilateral vision loss despite anticoagulation, therapeutic lumbar punctures with lumbar drain, bilateral optic nerve sheath fenestrations, and endovascular thrombectomy. It is possible that obese patients with a SARS-CoV-2 infection may be at greater risk of hypercoagulable cerebrovascular complications. It is impossible to know if an even more rapid response would have led to a different outcome, but we report this case in the hope that publishing this and similar cases may result in improved treatment protocols to preserve vision.

Sudden bilateral vision loss in a COVID-19 patient: A case report.

We present a Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patient who developed sudden bilateral vision loss after a bilateral occipital ischemic stroke and without a history of stroke risk factors. An 84-year-old man was admitted to the emergency room with bilateral sudden vision loss while receiving Favipiravir treatment for 5 days following a COVID-19 diagnosis. The patient had no history of stroke risk factors, such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, or arrhythmia. Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging of the patient revealed acute ischemia in the bilateral posterior occipital lobe and bilateral cerebellar hemisphere. We conclude that COVID-19 may rarely cause bilateral ischemic stroke presented only in the form of vision loss.

Neurological Complications of COVID-19: A Rare Case of Bilateral Blindness.

BACKGROUND: There are growing reports of the neurological involvement among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Headache, confusion, and anosmia after olfactory nerve disruption are the most prevalent presentation of the neurological involvement related to COVID-19. However, small numbers of the central nervous system involvement have been reported. CASE REPORT: A 49-year-old man was referred to our hospital with abrupt vision loss. Three weeks earlier he was admitted to the hospital based on his respiratory symptoms and was diagnosed with COVID-19 infection. Initial brain magnetic resonance imaging indicated diffuse restricted bilateral foci in both parietal and occipital lobes in favor of acute infarction. Diffuse weighted imaging demonstrated restricted bilateral hyperintense signals in parietal and occipital region. Occipital cortex biopsy showed brain tissue with focal infiltration of foamy macrophages mixed with reactive astrocytes and no plasma cell infiltration. Considering all of the evidence, post-COVID-19 encephalitis diagnosis was considered for the patient, and methyl prednisolone pulse therapy and intravenous immunoglobulin were initiated. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Although there are growing reports of neurological involvement among patients, blindness is rarely observed as a complication of post-COVID-19 encephalitis. To our knowledge, this is the first case of post-COVID-19 encephalitis that presented with bilateral vision loss primarily. This case may raise physicians' awareness of neurological complications of COVID-19.

ACUTE MACULAR NEURORETINOPATHY AS THE PRESENTING MANIFESTATION OF COVID-19 INFECTION.

PURPOSE: To describe a case of sudden visual loss from acute macular neuroretinopathy (AMN) as the presenting manifestation of active COVID-19 infection. CASE REPORT: During the quarantine period of the COVID-19 pandemic, a 70-year-old man presented with a 1-day history of a paracentral scotoma of the left eye associated with diaphoresis. Four days later, the patient developed fever (38°C) followed by cough. Oral and nasal swab PCR testing was positive for COVID-19. Visual acuity in the day of presentation was 20/20 in the right eye and 20/100 in the left eye. Multimodal retinal imaging was unremarkable in the right eye, but cross-sectional optical coherence tomography displayed focal hyperreflectivity at the level of the outer nuclear layer associated with disruption of the ellipsoid zone. The corresponding en face optical coherence tomography revealed an inferonasal hyperreflective parafoveal lesion. At 1 month of follow-up, tracked optical coherence tomography of the macula showed resolution of the hyperreflective signal, thinning of the outer nuclear layer, and near-complete recovery of ellipsoid zone integrity. CONCLUSION: Patients with COVID-19 may rarely present with signs and symptoms of ocular disease. This case report describes a case of sudden visual loss caused by acute macular neuroretinopathy as the presenting manifestation of active COVID-19 infection.

Bilateral, vertical supranuclear gaze palsy following unilateral midbrain infarct.

A 60-year-old man recently admitted for bipedal oedema, endocarditis and a persistently positive COVID-19 swab with a history of anticoagulation on rivaroxaban for atrial fibrillation, transitional cell carcinoma, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, diabetes and hypertension presented with sudden onset diplopia and vertical gaze palsy. Vestibulo-ocular reflex was preserved. Simultaneously, he developed a scotoma and sudden visual loss, and was found to have a right branch retinal artery occlusion. MRI head demonstrated a unilateral midbrain infarct. This case demonstrates a rare unilateral cause of bilateral supranuclear palsy which spares the posterior commisure. The case also raises a question about the contribution of COVID-19 to the procoagulant status of the patient which already includes atrial fibrillation and endocarditis, and presents a complex treatment dilemma regarding anticoagulation.

Acute Vision Loss in a Patient with COVID-19.

To date, there have been reports of neurologic manifestations in COVID-19 patients including ischemic strokes, Guillain-Barre Syndrome and anosmia. In this case report, we describe a patient who presented with dysosmia, dysgeusia, along with monocular peripheral vision loss after being diagnosed with COVID-19.

Ophthalmology and SARS-CoV-2: Blind toward those who fight blindness?

SARS-CoV-2 infection recently reached pandemic proportions, with high risk of death for the worldwide population. In this dramatic scenario, all the resources are addressed to the intensive care units for the assessment of the emergency. However, more attention should be paid with respect to the risk of viral diffusion among asymptomatic people. Italy is the second most involved country in the world, and we needed to gain a lot of experience in a very limited time. At least 1 m of distance among people is recommended; however, some clinical practices cannot allow this distance. In this context, we believe that the careful safety assessment of clinical settings, like ophthalmologic ones, may have a remarkable impact on the fight against SARS-CoV-2 spread.