ArticleBMJ open ophthalmology2020
Are eyes the windows to COVID-19? Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Article in BMJ open ophthalmology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- TFOS lifestyle: Impact of societal challenges on the ocular surface.The ocular surface · 2023Pooled it
- Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, and Dizziness in COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.The Canadian journal of neurological sciences. Le journal canadien des sciences neurologiques · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled Prevalence Estimate of Ocular Manifestations in COVID-19 Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Iranian journal of medical sciences · 2022Pooled it
- Automated Direct Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty: First Prospective Clinical Trial.Translational vision science & technology · 2021Trial
- New-onset conjunctivitis 3.5 years post SARS-CoV-2 infection in an inner-city population in the Bronx.BMJ open ophthalmology · 2025Article
- Changes in the spectrum of ocular disease during the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2022 in the Hubei Province.Scientific reports · 2025Observational
- Article
- Ocular manifestations of COVID-19: A systematic review of current evidence.Preventive medicine reports · 2024Review
- Bilateral interstitial keratitis following COVID-19: a case report.BMC ophthalmology · 2023Article
- Article
- Ocular symptoms in COVID-19 infection: a survey study.Journal of ophthalmic inflammation and infection · 2022Article
- Recurrent keratoconjunctivitis as the sole manifestation of COVID-19 infection: A case report.European journal of ophthalmology · 2022Article
- Evaluating Ocular Symptoms and Tear Film Cytokine Profiles in Symptomatic COVID-19 Patients.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- COVID-19 and the eye: alternative facts The 2022 Bowman Club, David L. Easty lecture.BMJ open ophthalmology · 2022Review
- COVID-19 and the Human Eye: Conjunctivitis, a Lone COVID-19 Finding - A Case-Control Study.Medical principles and practice : international journal of the Kuwait University, Health Science Centre · 2022Article
- Viral S protein histochemistry reveals few potential SARS-CoV-2 entry sites in human ocular tissues.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Ocular Involvement of SARS-CoV-2 in a Polish Cohort of COVID-19-Positive Patients.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Diagnostic accuracy of infrared thermal imaging for detecting COVID-19 infection in minimally symptomatic patients.European journal of clinical investigation · 2021Observational
- Focused Review: Potential Rare and Atypical Symptoms as Indicator for Targeted COVID-19 Screening.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2021Review
- Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on Ocular Surface Pathology and Treatment Practices: a Review.Current ophthalmology reports · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo review and critically appraise the ocular manifestation and the presence of SARS-CoV-2 through PCR positivity from ocular samples in COVID-19-related patients. Moreover, to evaluate the time and severity association of ocular manifestation to systemic disease of COVID-19. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A systematic literature search from PubMed, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar databases was performed using standardised Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guideline. Selected keywords were related to COVID-19, ocular manifestation and PCR testing of SARS-CoV-2. Studies were assessed for their validity, and the data were extracted by two independent reviewers. Observational, case series and case report studies were included if they met the selection criteria. Meta-analysis was performed to estimate the pooled prevalence of ocular manifestations and PCR positivity from tears.
resultsThirty-one articles were qualitatively reviewed, and 14 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of ocular manifestation among COVID-19-related patients was 0.05 (95% CI 0.02% to 0.08). The overall PCR from tears samples positivity rate from COVID-19-related patients presenting with ocular manifestation was 0.38 (95% CI 0.14% to 0.65). Ocular manifestation could precede systemic manifestation in about 0.28 (95% CI 0.05% to 0.58) of COVID-19-related patients with ocular manifestations. Besides, ocular manifestation was not associated with a severe form of COVID-19.
conclusionAlthough the overall number of ocular manifestation and SARS-CoV-2 PCR positivity rate from ocular samples was very low, around a quarter of COVID-19-related patients with ocular manifestation presented their ocular manifestation earlier than the systemic manifestation regardless of the severity. Interestingly, SARS-CoV-2 PCR was positive from one-third of ocular samples, which could potentially be the source of infection to the respiratory tract and the environment, although the infectivity is yet to be determined.
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