Ocular Symptoms Experienced by People With Covid-19 Infection

Abstract

Aim: To study the ocular symptoms experienced by people with COVID-19 infection

Study design:  It was a cross sectional descriptive study.

Duration and setting of study: The study was conducted online at Peshawar over a period of 4 months from 1^st September to 31^st December 2020.

 Methods:  In order to investigate the different types and frequency of distinct ocular symptoms in individuals diagnosed with COVID-19, a standard online questionnaire was adapted from a published article. The questionnaire includes both the ocular and systemic symptoms of COVID-19 infection. The online questionnaire was shared with participants who were diagnosed with COVID-19 through various social media groups and sites.

Results: In this study, we evaluated 186 eyes of 93 patients who had a positive COVID-19 test during a period of 4 months. In our study the age range was 30 to 50 years. Male were 60 (64.5%) and female were 33 (35.5%). More than 90% of the patients had more than one systemic symptoms of COVID-19. The ocular symptoms were present in 52 eyes of 26 patients which was 27.95 % of total COVID-19 patients.

The most prevalent symptom was red eye which was 28.85%, followed by photophobia and itchy eyes which were 17.3% each. Foreign body sensation occurred in 13.5% eyes.

Conclusion: It was concluded that various ocular symptoms are associated with COVID -19 infections.