• About
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Sunday, July 13, 2025
Newsletter
SUBSCRIBE
  • Latest News
  • All Sections
    • Ophthalmic insights
      • Policy & regulation
      • Company updates & acquisitions
      • Research
      • Clinical trials
      • Workforce
      • Product approvals
      • Conferences
      • Opinion
      • Indigenous eye health
      • Retail
    • Eye disease
      • Dry eye
      • Myopia
      • Cataract
      • Glaucoma
      • Macular disease – AMD
      • Diabetic eye disease
      • Inherited retinal disease
      • Corneal disease
      • Presbyopia
      • Eye infections
    • Ophthalmic Careers
      • New appointments
      • Industry profiles
      • Graduates
    • Ophthalmic organisations
      • Regulators
      • Optometry networks
      • Private ophthalmology clinics
      • Associations
      • Patient support bodies
      • Eye research institutions
      • Optometry schools
      • Optical Dispensing trainers
      • Medical schools
      • RANZCO
  • Features
    • Report
    • Soapbox
  • Ophthalmic education
    • CPD – Optometry
    • Optical Dispensing
    • Orthoptics Australia
    • Practice management
  • Products
    • Ophthalmic Treatments
      • Ophthalmic lenses
      • Lens treatments
      • Myopia interventions
      • Light-based therapy
      • Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS)
      • Gene therapy
      • Laser treatments
      • Supplements
      • Eyewear & frames
      • Behavioural optometry/vision training
      • Contact lenses
      • Anti-VEGF
      • Intraocular lenses (IOLs)
      • Pharmaceuticals & consumables
    • Ophthalmic equipment & diagnostics
      • Biometry – axial length
      • Perimetry & visual fields
      • OCT
      • Phoropter
      • Autorefractor
      • Tonometry
      • Topography
      • Multimodal imaging
      • Retinal imaging
      • Anterior segment imaging
      • Software & data management
      • Microscopes
      • Slit lamps
      • Lens edging
      • Stands, chairs and tables
      • Ultrasound
      • Dry eye diagnostics
      • Low vision aids
  • Research
  • Classifieds
No Results
View All Results
  • Latest News
  • All Sections
    • Ophthalmic insights
      • Policy & regulation
      • Company updates & acquisitions
      • Research
      • Clinical trials
      • Workforce
      • Product approvals
      • Conferences
      • Opinion
      • Indigenous eye health
      • Retail
    • Eye disease
      • Dry eye
      • Myopia
      • Cataract
      • Glaucoma
      • Macular disease – AMD
      • Diabetic eye disease
      • Inherited retinal disease
      • Corneal disease
      • Presbyopia
      • Eye infections
    • Ophthalmic Careers
      • New appointments
      • Industry profiles
      • Graduates
    • Ophthalmic organisations
      • Regulators
      • Optometry networks
      • Private ophthalmology clinics
      • Associations
      • Patient support bodies
      • Eye research institutions
      • Optometry schools
      • Optical Dispensing trainers
      • Medical schools
      • RANZCO
  • Features
    • Report
    • Soapbox
  • Ophthalmic education
    • CPD – Optometry
    • Optical Dispensing
    • Orthoptics Australia
    • Practice management
  • Products
    • Ophthalmic Treatments
      • Ophthalmic lenses
      • Lens treatments
      • Myopia interventions
      • Light-based therapy
      • Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS)
      • Gene therapy
      • Laser treatments
      • Supplements
      • Eyewear & frames
      • Behavioural optometry/vision training
      • Contact lenses
      • Anti-VEGF
      • Intraocular lenses (IOLs)
      • Pharmaceuticals & consumables
    • Ophthalmic equipment & diagnostics
      • Biometry – axial length
      • Perimetry & visual fields
      • OCT
      • Phoropter
      • Autorefractor
      • Tonometry
      • Topography
      • Multimodal imaging
      • Retinal imaging
      • Anterior segment imaging
      • Software & data management
      • Microscopes
      • Slit lamps
      • Lens edging
      • Stands, chairs and tables
      • Ultrasound
      • Dry eye diagnostics
      • Low vision aids
  • Research
  • Classifieds
No Results
View All Results
Home Local

Case report links COVID-19 with permanent vision loss  

by Myles Hume
January 12, 2021
in Local, News, Ophthalmology, Optometry, Research
Reading Time: 2 mins read
A A
The ability of SARS-CoV-2 to induce serious ocular disease has remained largely unknown.

The ability of SARS-CoV-2 to induce serious ocular disease has remained largely unknown.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Ophthalmologists have documented what is believed to be the first reported case of permanent loss of visual acuity that may have been induced by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Researchers from the Metz-Thionville Regional Hospital Center, Lorraine University, Mercy Hospital, in the French city of Metz, say the virus has been found in tears, and known to cause conjunctivitis and asymptomatic nonneuropathic retinal lesions. But little was known about its ability to trigger serious ocular disease.

“To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of inflammatory ocular neuropathy that was associated with uveitis, may have been induced by SARS-CoV-2, and resulted in permanent loss of visual acuity,” lead author Dr Jean Marc Perone wrote in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.

“In animals, other coronaviruses can cause conjunctivitis, anterior uveitis, retinitis, and disc neuritis. However, the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to induce serious ocular disease has been unknown.”

The case was diagnosed in a woman in her 50s hospitalised in March 2020 for severe bilateral pneumonia before testing positive for the coronavirus.

She developed blurred vision and redness in her right eye and temporary (eight-days) pain when mobilising the globe. Her best-corrected visual acuity was +2 logMAR (hand movement 6/600) in her right eye and 6/6 in her left. The right eye had a relative afferent pupil defect, central scotoma, and impaired colour and contrast vision.

(Image A) Optic disc neuritis was observed along with mild leakage that associated with an inferior peripapillary hemorrhage. (Image B) Fluorescein leakage from retinal venules inferotemporal to the macula was also observed. Image: JAMA Ophthalmology

The patient was treated with oral and topical corticosteroids for presumed non-infectious ocular inflammation. But 30 days after being admitted into intensive care, fluorescein angiography revealed optic disc neuritis and inferior retinal vasculitis. Mild papillary edema was also observed.

She was diagnosed with inflammation-induced ocular neuropathy associated with SARS-CoV-2–induced panuveitis.

Perone said while central nervous system involvement (eg, meningo-encephalitis) had been reported in infected patients, it could not explain his findings because the cranial magnetic resonance imaging produced clear results.

“While it remains possible these findings were idiopathic, the temporal association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and the ocular manifestations and the lack of relevant history support the possibility that SARS-CoV-2 caused the neuropathic ocular inflammation in this case,” he said.

“This case suggests that COVID-19 manifestations may include isolated inflammatory optic neuritis that leads to permanent visual acuity loss. To limit the functional consequences of ocular neuropathy in patients infected by SARS-CoV-2, it should be diagnosed and treated early.”

More reading

Researchers argue sore eyes should replace conjunctivitis as COVID-19 symptom

Screening vital to eliminating COVID transmission risk through donor cornea

Phaco and surgeon contamination risks amid COVID-19

AMD patients at higher risk of COVID-19 death

Tags: coronavirusCOVID-19eye diseaseJAMA Ophthalmologyloss of visual acuityophthalmologistspermanentSARS-CoV-2

Related Posts

So many companies working on so many solutions in IOLs and surgery means it has become evident that there is some nomenclature confusion.  Image: Oktay/stock.adobe.com.

Clearing up nomenclature confusion in IOL lenses

by Dr Peter Sumich
July 13, 2025

Presbyopia management has been the holy grail for intraocular lens technology development for 30 years, but sub-classifying lenses has become...

What the customer wants in a frame will not necessarily be suited to the prescription they end up with. Images: Jacobus Boshoff.

No, you can’t have that frame

by Jacobus Boshoff
July 12, 2025

Jacobus Boshoff on why a good optical dispenser sometimes needs to dish out the harsh truth, and why frame choice...

Myopia is surging around the world, and particularly among children. New studies show that HOYA's DIMS technology can have a lasting impact in treatment. Image: HOYA.

New evidence backs HOYA’s DIMS technology to combat myopia

by Staff Writer
July 11, 2025

HOYA Vision Care has announced new clinical evidence from three key clinical studies highlighting the impact of Defocus Incorporated Multiple...

Join our newsletter

View our privacy policy, collection notice and terms and conditions to understand how we use your personal information.

Insight has been the leading industry publication in Australia for more than 40 years. This longevity is largely due to our ability to consistently deliver accurate and independent news relevant to all ophthalmic professionals and their supporting industry.

Subscribe to our newsletter

View our privacy policy, collection notice and terms and conditions to understand how we use your personal information.

About Insight

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Collection Notice
  • Privacy Policy

Popular Topics

  • Business
  • Feature
  • Research
  • Technology
  • Therapies
  • Classifieds

© 2025 All Rights Reserved. All content published on this site is the property of Prime Creative Media. Unauthorised reproduction is prohibited

No Results
View All Results
NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE
  • Latest News
  • All Sections
    • Ophthalmic insights
      • Policy & regulation
      • Company updates & acquisitions
      • Research
      • Clinical trials
      • Workforce
      • Product approvals
      • Conferences
      • Opinion
      • Indigenous eye health
      • Retail
    • Eye disease
      • Dry eye
      • Myopia
      • Cataract
      • Glaucoma
      • Macular disease – AMD
      • Diabetic eye disease
      • Inherited retinal disease
      • Corneal disease
      • Presbyopia
      • Eye infections
    • Ophthalmic Careers
      • New appointments
      • Industry profiles
      • Graduates
    • Ophthalmic organisations
      • Regulators
      • Optometry networks
      • Private ophthalmology clinics
      • Associations
      • Patient support bodies
      • Eye research institutions
      • Optometry schools
      • Optical Dispensing trainers
      • Medical schools
      • RANZCO
  • Features
    • Report
    • Soapbox
  • Ophthalmic education
    • CPD – Optometry
    • Optical Dispensing
    • Orthoptics Australia
    • Practice management
  • Products
    • Ophthalmic Treatments
      • Ophthalmic lenses
      • Lens treatments
      • Myopia interventions
      • Light-based therapy
      • Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS)
      • Gene therapy
      • Laser treatments
      • Supplements
      • Eyewear & frames
      • Behavioural optometry/vision training
      • Contact lenses
      • Anti-VEGF
      • Intraocular lenses (IOLs)
      • Pharmaceuticals & consumables
    • Ophthalmic equipment & diagnostics
      • Biometry – axial length
      • Perimetry & visual fields
      • OCT
      • Phoropter
      • Autorefractor
      • Tonometry
      • Topography
      • Multimodal imaging
      • Retinal imaging
      • Anterior segment imaging
      • Software & data management
      • Microscopes
      • Slit lamps
      • Lens edging
      • Stands, chairs and tables
      • Ultrasound
      • Dry eye diagnostics
      • Low vision aids
  • Research
  • Classifieds
  • About Us
  • Advertise with Insight
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Insight

© 2025 All Rights Reserved. All content published on this site is the property of Prime Creative Media. Unauthorised reproduction is prohibited