Li Meiyan, Yang Yaling, He Taiwen, Wei Ruoyan, Shen Yinzhong, Qi Tangkai, Han Tian, Song Zhigang, Zhu Zhaoqin, Ma Xiaopeng, Zhao Jing, Lin Yixiao, Shen Yang, Yang Weiming, Zhao Keqing, Lu Hongzhou, Zhou Xingtao
Department of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Eye and ENT Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; NHC Key Laboratory of Myopia (Fudan University), Shanghai, China; Shanghai Research Center of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Shanghai, China.
Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Shanghai, China.
Ann Transl Med. 2021 Jan;9(2):100. doi: 10.21037/atm-20-6026.
To investigate the temporal pattern of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) presence on ocular surfaces using conjunctival swabs in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients.
This study included 59 patients (32 newly admitted and 27 hospitalized for ≥2 weeks) with a COVID-19-confirmed diagnosis at the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center from March 3, 2020, to March 21, 2020. Conjunctival swab samples were collected from both eyes of all the 59 patients and were tested by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay. The range of sampling time lies widely between 1 and 50 days since symptom onset.
Among the 32 newly admitted patients, positive RT-PCR results for SARS-CoV-2 in conjunctival swab samples were reported in 2 patients (one eye for each) without ocular discomfort, but 1 positive case had conjunctival congestion. The positive results were detected on Day 5 for 1 patient and Day 7 for the other, but repeated tests after 1 week were negative for both patients. All 27 patients who had been hospitalized for ≥2 weeks had negative test results. The mean time from symptom onset to sampling of 2 positive cases was significantly less than that of 57 negative cases (P<0.001).
SARS-CoV-2 on the ocular surface can be detected in the early phase of COVID-19. The risk of ocular transmission remains and might be higher in the early phase.
使用结膜拭子调查2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）患者眼表严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）的存在时间模式。
本研究纳入了2020年3月3日至2020年3月21日在上海公共卫生临床中心确诊为COVID-19的59例患者（32例新入院患者和27例住院≥2周的患者）。从所有59例患者的双眼采集结膜拭子样本，并通过逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）检测。采样时间范围在症状出现后的1至50天之间。
在32例新入院患者中，2例患者（各1只眼）结膜拭子样本的SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR检测结果呈阳性，且无眼部不适，但1例阳性病例有结膜充血。1例患者在第5天检测到阳性结果，另1例在第7天检测到阳性结果，但2例患者在1周后重复检测均为阴性。所有27例住院≥2周的患者检测结果均为阴性。2例阳性病例从症状出现到采样的平均时间显著短于57例阴性病例（P<0.001）。
COVID-19早期可检测到眼表的SARS-CoV-2。眼部传播风险仍然存在，且在早期可能更高。
