Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37892009›Full record

ArticleDiagnostics (Basel, Switzerland)2023

Neuroinflammatory Findings of Corneal Confocal Microscopy in Long COVID-19 Patients, 2 Years after Acute SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Pilar Cañadas, Leonela Gonzalez-Vides, Marta Alberquilla García-Velasco, Pedro Arriola, Noemí Guemes-Villahoz, Jose Luis Hernández-Verdejo

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 27% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Pilar CañadasOptometry and Vision Department, School of Optometry, Complutense University of Madrid, 28037 Madrid, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-3741-8318
Leonela Gonzalez-VidesOptometry and Vision Department, School of Optometry, Complutense University of Madrid, 28037 Madrid, Spain.ORCID 0000-0001-7741-4330
Marta Alberquilla García-VelascoOptometry and Vision Department, School of Optometry, Complutense University of Madrid, 28037 Madrid, Spain.
Pedro ArriolaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, 28040 Madrid, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-3573-0842
Noemí Guemes-VillahozDepartment of Ophthalmology, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, 28040 Madrid, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-9289-1212
Jose Luis Hernández-VerdejoOptometry and Vision Department, School of Optometry, Complutense University of Madrid, 28037 Madrid, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-6418-4086
Universidad Complutense de Madrid · ESHospital Clínico San Carlos · ES

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo describe corneal confocal microscopy findings in patients with long COVID-19 with persistent symptoms over 20 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection.

designA descriptive cross-sectional study that included a total of 88 patients; 60 patients with Long COVID-19 and 28 controls. Long COVID-19 diagnosis was established according to the World Health Organization criteria. Corneal confocal microscopy using a Heidelberg Retina Tomograph II (Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany) was performed to evaluate sub-basal nerve plexus morphology (corneal nerve fiber density, nerve fiber length, nerve branch density, nerve fiber total branch density, nerve fiber area, and nerve fiber width). Dendritic cell density and area, along with microneuromas and other morphological changes of the nerve fibers were recorded.

resultsLong COVID-19 patients presented with reduced corneal nerve density and branch density as well as shorter corneal nerves compared to the control group. Additionally, Long COVID-19 patients showed an increased density of dendritic cells also with a greater area than that found in the control group of patients without systemic diseases. Microneuromas were detected in 15% of Long COVID-19 patients.

conclusionsLong COVID-19 patients exhibited altered corneal nerve parameters and increased DC density over 20 months after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. These findings are consistent with a neuroinflammatory condition hypothesized to be present in patients with Long COVID-19, highlighting the potential role of corneal confocal microscopy as a promising noninvasive technique for the study of patients with Long COVID-19.

Indexed as

corneal confocal microscopycorneal nerve plexusCOVID-19dendritic cellsLong-COVID

Identifiers

PMID37892009
PMCPMC10605628
OpenAlexW4387571179

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.