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Case Reports
. 2022 Jun 27;14(6):e26365.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.26365. eCollection 2022 Jun.

Retinal Vasculitis in a Patient With Mixed Connective Tissue Disease Following COVID-19 Infection: Correlation or Coincidence?

Salil Mehta  1 , Niharika Gill  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Retinal Vasculitis in a Patient With Mixed Connective Tissue Disease Following COVID-19 Infection: Correlation or Coincidence?

Salil Mehta et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

We report the systemic and ophthalmic findings in a female patient with mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) who subsequently developed retinal vasculitis following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) reinfection. The patient was a known case of MCTD maintained in remission on immunosuppressive treatment. She subsequently developed retinal vasculitis with areas of capillary non-perfusion in the right eye. This was a finding not seen previously. She was started on an enhanced immunosuppressive regimen along with scatter laser photocoagulation. COVID-19 has been reported to lead to the development of autoimmune disease, both de novo as well as the worsening of pre-existing disease. The onset of retinal vasculitis may potentially be due to a post-COVID-19 exacerbation of her pre-existing MCTD. Physicians should be aware of this possibility and screen for the same.

Keywords: covid-19; fundoscopy; mixed connective tissue disease; retinal vasculitis; systemic inflammatory and autoimmune disease.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Chest X-ray showing multiple shadows across the upper, mid, and lower zones bilaterally. The arrows point to the lung field shadows on the right side
Figure 2
Figure 2. CT scan of the chest showing multiple ground-glass opacities scattered throughout the lung fields consistent with resolving COVID-19 pneumonia. The arrow points to an area of ground-glass opacity
CT: computed tomography; COVID-19: coronavirus disease 2019
Figure 3
Figure 3. Fundus photograph of the right eye showing areas of narrowing and vasculitis (white arrows)
Figure 4
Figure 4. Fundus photograph of the inferotemporal quadrant of the right eye showing vasculitis (white arrows) and intraretinal hemorrhages (black arrow)
Figure 5
Figure 5. OCTA image showing areas of capillary dropout (ischemia) within the superficial capillary network (white arrows mark the boundaries of the ischemic areas)
OCTA: optical coherence tomography angiography
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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