Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40418432›Full record

ArticlePharmacological reports : PR2025

Ocular microvascular changes in COVID-19: role of hypoxia, D-dimer, IL-6 and systemic treatment.

Magdalena Kal, Michał Brzdęk, Izabella Karska-Basta, Piotr Rzymski, Antonio Pinna, Mateusz Winiarczyk, Jerzy Mackiewicz, Dominik Odrobina, Dorota Zarębska-Michaluk

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Pharmacological reports : PR, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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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

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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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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

9 authors.

Magdalena KalCollegium Medicum, Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, Kielce, 25-317, Poland.
Michał BrzdękCollegium Medicum, Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, Kielce, 25-317, Poland. michal.brzdek@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1180-9230
Izabella Karska-BastaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland.
Piotr RzymskiDepartment of Environmental Medicine, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
Antonio PinnaDepartment of Medicine, Surgery, and Pharmacy, Ophthalmology Unit, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy.
Mateusz WiniarczykDepartment of Vitreoretinal Surgery, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
Jerzy MackiewiczDepartment of Vitreoretinal Surgery, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
Dominik OdrobinaCollegium Medicum, Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, Kielce, 25-317, Poland.
Dorota Zarębska-MichalukCollegium Medicum, Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, Kielce, 25-317, Poland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been associated with endothelial dysfunction, which may also compromise the microcirculation within ocular tissues. This prospective study evaluated associations between radial peripapillary capillary (RPC) vessel density (VD) and systemic treatment, age, hypoxia, D-dimer, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in patients recovering from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) related pneumonia.

methodsSixty-three individuals who were admitted to the hospital due to COVID-19 bilateral pneumonia underwent ophthalmic examination two months post-discharge. RPC VD was measured using optical coherence tomography angiography. Associations with age, arterial hypertension, and systemic treatment (dexamethasone, remdesivir, and oxygen therapy), oxygen saturation, D-dimer, and IL-6 levels were evaluated. The control group comprised 43 control participants with no history of COVID-19 who attended routine ophthalmic examinations.

resultsNo ophthalmic abnormalities were detected. RPC VD did not differ significantly with hypertension or systemic treatment with dexamethasone and remdesivir. However, patients receiving oxygen therapy had higher RPC VD. A borderline inverse correlation was observed between inferior RPC VD and age. There were no correlations between RPC VD and oxygen saturation. Significant inverse correlations were found between nasal RPC and mean RPC with D-dimer levels and between inferior RPC VD and IL-6 levels. No significant differences in RPC parameters were observed when comparing the COVID-19 group with controls.

conclusionsHypertension or systemic treatment had no significant effect on RCP VD. However, VD in specific RPC areas correlated inversely with D-dimer and IL-6 levels, highlighting the need for monitoring peripapillary microvasculature for potential long-term ocular effects of COVID-19.

Indexed as

COVID-19COVID-19 Drug TreatmentFibrin Fibrinogen Degradation ProductsHypoxiaInterleukin-6MicrovesselsAdultAgedDexamethasoneFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedProspective StudiesTomography, Optical CoherenceDexamethasoneFibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Productsfibrin fragment DIL6 protein, humanInterleukin-6HypoxiaInflammationOphthalmologyOptical coherence tomography angiographyPeripapillary vessel densitySARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID40418432
PMCPMC12241263

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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.