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. 2023 Sep 23;13(1):44.
doi: 10.1186/s12348-023-00358-x.

Ocular manifestations following COVID-19 vaccination

Padmamalini Mahendradas  1 , Sai Bhakti Mishra  2 , Rohini Sangoram  2 , Sanjay Srinivasan  2 , Ankush Kawali  2 , Aditya Patil  2 , Rohit Shetty  3
Affiliations

Ocular manifestations following COVID-19 vaccination

Padmamalini Mahendradas et al. J Ophthalmic Inflamm Infect. .

Abstract

Background: Immunologic and inflammatory adverse effects following vaccination against COVID-19 are being reported. While some reactions may develop denovo others concern its immunogenic effect in patients with pre-existing inflammatory conditions.

Methods: Retrospective consecutive patients diagnosed with ocular inflammatory manifestations within 8 weeks of receiving COVID-19 vaccination who presented to a tertiary eye care centre in South India.

Results: Ninety-eight eyes of 67 patients presenting with ocular inflammatory manifestations within 8 weeks following COVID-19 vaccination were studied. The mean age was 43 years (+/- 14.82; range 19-80 years). The most common presentations were anterior uveitis (n = 31, 31.7%), followed by panuveitis (n = 24, 24.5%). The mean time to onset of symptoms was 25 days (+/- 15.48; range 2-55 days) following a dose of vaccine. Among all patients, 39 (58.2%) had a previous history of ocular inflammation. Mean presenting visual acuity was 0.4 (0-4) logMAR units and mean final visual acuity was 0.2 (0-4) logMAR units. The causes for reduced vision included of cystoid macular edema (n=2, 2%), chorioretinal atrophy (n=2.2%), optic atrophy (n=1.1%), retinal vascular occlusion (n=1.1%) and acute retinal necrosis (n=1.1%).

Conclusion: Infective and immunogenic adverse events should be watched out for after COVID-19 vaccination. It is difficult to establish causality for such manifestations, nevertheless, most of them were mild and had good final visual outcomes.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus disease; Immunologic; Ocular inflammation; SARS-CoV-2; Scleritis; Uveitis; Vaccination; Vaccine-associated uveitis.

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Conflict of interest statement

None.

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