New evidence released on Tuesday documents so-called lumps in the eyes of patients battling severe COVID-19, with scientists hypothesizing causes such as virus-related inflammation and positioning patients face down to improve oxygenation.
A team of French researchers published findings in the journal Radiology, based on 129 patients with severe COVID-19 who underwent brain MRIs in 16 hospitals from March 4 to May 1. Nine patients, or 7%, had at least one of the so-called “hyperintense nodules” towards the back of the eye in the “macular region”, key to clear vision. Almost all patients in the small subgroup had nodules in both eyes.
CORONAVIRUS UP TO 100 TIMES MORE INFECTIOUS BY THE EYES, BY AIR THAN SARS: REPORT
THE HUMAN EYE IS ‘SUSTAINABLE’ TO CORONAVIRUS INFECTION, NEW STUDY WARNINGS
It is still unclear exactly what causes the nodules, although scientists have suggested virus-related inflammation or the prone position (when patients are placed face down for better oxygenation) for an extended period. Seven of the nine patients were in the prone position, and the researchers therefore raised the hypothesis of issues related to “inadequate drainage of the veins in the eyes”.
The team is monitoring patients for vision loss and has since started another study in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 to see if the problem also affects these patients.
Six of the patients in the study were obese, two had diabetes and two had hypertension, the study authors said. Eight patients underwent intensive treatment due to the severe COVID-19 crisis. Six patients underwent brain MRI scans because they were slow to wake up after the sedation was stopped.
“We showed that some patients with severe COVID-19 from the French cohort COVID-19 had one or more nodules from the posterior pole of the globe,” Dr. Augustin Lecler, lead author of the study and an associate professor at the University of Paris and a neuroradiologist at the Department of Neuroradiology at the Hospital Adolphe de Rothschild Foundation in Paris, said in a related statement. “This is the first time that these findings have been described using magnetic resonance imaging.”
MAKE THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION
The study authors suggested that the tests may help to control these potentially serious manifestations that affect the eyes.
The study had several limitations, such as the lack of a control and test group for SARS-CoV-2 samples in the eyes and conjunctiva, or in the membrane covering the eye and eyelids. Because of these limitations, the scientists wrote, in part, “it is impossible to assess the direct causality of the virus in our findings”.