Observational studyPloS one2020
Retinal changes in COVID-19 hospitalized cases.
Observational study in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 65 citations in OpenAlex.
- COVID-19-Related Retinal Micro-vasculopathy - A Review of Current Evidence.American journal of ophthalmology · 2022Pooled it
- Ocular manifestations in COVID-19 patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Travel medicine and infectious diseasePooled it
- Ocular diseases and their association with mortality in intensive care unit patients: a retrospective cohort study from the MIMIC-IV database.BMJ open ophthalmology · 2026Article
- The hidden ophthalmic dangers of steroids in COVID-19 treatment: a case report.Translational pediatrics · 2025Article
- Retinal and Corneal OCT Results of Patients Hospitalized and Treated in the Acute Phase of COVID-19.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- The prone position in COVID-19 impacts the thickness of peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layers and macular ganglion cell layers.PloS one · 2024Article
- Case report: A case of unilateral combined central retinal vein occlusion, incomplete central retinal artery occlusion, and papillitis following a third dose of COVID-19 vaccination.Frontiers in ophthalmology · 2024Article
- Outer Retinopathies Associated with COVID-19 Infection: Case Reports and Review of Literature.Case reports in ophthalmological medicine · 2024Article
- SARS-COV-2 spike protein promotes RPE cell senescence via the ROS/P53/P21 pathway.Biogerontology · 2023Article
- The spectrum of COVID-19-associated chorioretinal vasculopathy.American journal of ophthalmology case reports · 2023Article
- Endogenous endophthalmitis in post-COVID-19 patients: a case report.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2023Article
- Retinal vascular occlusions in COVID-19 infection and vaccination: a literature review.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2023Review
- Evaluation of Retinal Vascularity Index in Patients with COVID-19: A Case-Control Study.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2023Article
- Direct, indirect, post-infection damages induced by coronavirus in the human body: an overview.Virusdisease · 2022Review
- Retinal Microvascular Changes in COVID-19 Bilateral Pneumonia Based on Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- Use of Imaging Technology to Assess the Effect of COVID-19 on Retinal Tissues: A Systematic Review.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2022Review
- Headache and cognitive disturbance correlate with ganglion cell layer thickness in patients who recovered from COVID-19.Clinical neurology and neurosurgery · 2022Article
- Retinal Findings of Hospitalized Neonates Recovered from COVID-19 Infection: A Prospective, Observational, Descriptive Study.Journal of tropical pediatrics · 2022Observational
- Sub-internal limiting membrane haemorrhage as a manifestation of transiently deranged coagulation profile following SARS-CoV-2 infection.BMJ case reports · 2022Article
- Longitudinal Alterations of Retinal and Choroidal Structure in Patients Recovered from COVID-19.Journal of ophthalmology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The main objective of this study was to evaluate the retinas of severely or critically ill COVID-19 patients during their hospital stay, at varying time points after symptoms onset. This was a case series observed during May 2020 in two referral centers for COVID-19 treatment in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 47 eyes from 25 hospitalized patients with severe or critical confirmed illness were evaluated. A handheld retinal camera was used to acquire bilateral fundus images at several time points after symptoms onset. Electronic health records were retrospectively analyzed and clinical data collected. Severe and critical diseases were noticed in 52% (13/25) and 48% (12/25) of enrolled patients, respectively. Retinal changes were present in 12% (3/25) of patients: a 35 year-old male demonstrated bilateral nerve fiber layer infarcts and microhemorrhages in the papillomacular bundle, but required mechanical ventilation and developed severe anemia and systemic hypotension, acute kidney injury and neurologic symptoms during the course of the disease (critical illness); a 56 year-old male, who required full enoxaparin anticoagulation due to particularly elevated D-dimer (>5.0 mcg/mL), demonstrated unilateral and isolated flame-shaped hemorrhages; and a 49 year-old hypertensive male showed bilateral and discrete retinal dot and blot microhemorrhages. The other 22 patients evaluated did not demonstrate convincing retinal changes upon examination. There was no correlation between disease severity and admission serum levels of CRP, D-dimer and ferritin. This was the first study to show that vascular retinal changes may be present in not insignificant numbers of severe or critical COVID-19 inpatients. These retinal changes, only seen after morbid developments, were likely secondary to clinical intercurrences or comorbidities instead of a direct damage by SARS-CoV-2, and may be important and easily accessible outcome measures of therapeutic interventions and sentinels of neurologic and systemic diseases during COVID-19 pandemic.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.