Retinal Vessel Diameter Changes in COVID-19 Infected Patients

• Published in: Ocular immunology and inflammation Vol. 29; no. 4; pp. 645 - 651
• Main Authors: Aşıkgarip, Nazife, Temel, Emine, Hızmalı, Lokman, Örnek, Kemal, Sezgin, Fikriye Milletli
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 19.05.2021
• Subjects: coronavirus; COVID-19; optical coherence tomography; retinal vessel diameter; COVID-19; coronavirus; optical coherence tomography; retinal vessel diameter
• ISSN: 0927-3948; 1744-5078; 1744-5078
• DOI: 10.1080/09273948.2020.1853783

Purpose: To evaluate the longitudinal changes in retinal vessel diameters in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: This study included 25 patients with COVID-19 (Group 1) and 25 healthy subjects (Group 2). The diameters of peripapillary temporal and nasal retinal arteries and veins were measured at baseline and at 4 months after remission. Results: The baseline diameters of the inferior temporal vein and the artery were increased in group 1 compared to controls (p = .007 and p = .041, respectively). There was also an increase in the diameters of the inferior and superior nasal veins and arteries in group 1 at baseline (p = .001, p = .019, p = .037, and p = .008, respectively). Retinal vessel diameters decreased after remission in all quadrants in comparison to baseline measurements (all p < .05). Conclusion: Increased retinal vessel diameters were measured in COVID-19 patients during the disease. Measurement of retinal vessel diameters may be a noninvasive method of estimating the vascular risk.