Retinopathy and Systemic Disease Morbidity in Severe COVID-19
Jessica G. Shantha, Sara C. Auld, Casey Anthony, Laura Ward, Max W. Adelman, Cheryl L. Maier, Kenneth W. Price, Jesse T. Jacob, Tolulope Fashina, Casey Randleman, Lucy T. Xu, Joshua M. Barnett, Ofer Sadan, Prem Kandiah, Jay B. Varkey, Colleen S. Kraft, Nadine Rouphael, Susanne L. Linderman, Rafi Ahmed, Carolyn Drews‐Botsch, Jesse J. Waggoner, Max Weinmann, David J. Murphy, Steven Yeh, Emory COVID-19 Quality and Clinical Research Collaborative
Abstract
PURPOSE: To assess the prevalence of retinopathy and its association with systemic morbidity and laboratory indices of coagulation and inflammatory dysfunction in severe COVID-19. DESIGN: Retrospective, observational cohort study. METHODS: Adult patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 who underwent ophthalmic examination from April to July 2020 were reviewed. Retinopathy was defined as one of the following: 1) Retinal hemorrhage; 2) Cotton wool spots; 3) Retinal vascular occlusion. We analyzed medical comorbidities, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores, clinical outcomes, and laboratory values for their association with retinopathy. RESULTS: = .04). CONCLUSION: Retinopathy in severe COVID-19 was associated with greater systemic disease morbidity involving multiple organs. Given its association with coagulopathy and inflammation, retinopathy may offer insight into disease pathogenesis in patients with severe COVID-19.