Rodríguez-Ares Teresa, Lamas-Francis David, Treviño Mercedes, Navarro Daniel, Cea María, López-Valladares María Jesús, Martínez Laura, Gude Francisco, Touriño Rosario
Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Santiago de Compostela, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Faculty of Medicine, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Vision (Basel). 2021 Oct 22;5(4):51. doi: 10.3390/vision5040051.
This study investigates the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in conjunctival secretions and tears and evaluates ocular symptoms in a group of patients with COVID-19. We included 56 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in this cross-sectional cohort study. Conjunctival secretions and tears were collected using flocked swabs and Schirmer strips for SARS-CoV-2 reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Assessment of ocular surface manifestations included an OSDI (Ocular Surface Disease Index) questionnaire. Patients had been admitted to hospital for an average of 2.4 days (range 0-7) and had shown general symptoms for an average of 7.1 days (range 1-20) prior to ocular testing. Four (7.1%) of 56 conjunctival swabs and four (4%) of 112 Schirmer strips were positive for SARS-CoV-2. The mean E-gene cycle threshold values (Ct values) were 31.2 (SD 5.0) in conjunctival swabs and 32.9 (SD 2.7) in left eye Schirmer strips. Overall, 17 (30%) patients presented ocular symptoms. No association was found between positive ocular samples and ocular symptoms. This study shows that SARS-CoV-2 can be detected on the conjunctiva and tears of patients with COVID-19. Contact with the ocular surface may transmit the virus and preventive measures should be taken in this direction.
本研究调查了新冠病毒2型（SARS-CoV-2）在结膜分泌物和泪液中的存在情况，并评估了一组新冠肺炎患者的眼部症状。在这项横断面队列研究中，我们纳入了56例住院的新冠肺炎患者。使用植绒拭子和泪液试纸收集结膜分泌物和泪液，用于SARS-CoV-2逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）检测。眼表表现的评估包括眼表疾病指数（OSDI）问卷。患者在进行眼部检测前平均住院2.4天（范围0 - 7天），出现一般症状的平均时长为7.1天（范围1 - 20天）。56份结膜拭子中有4份（7.1%）、112条泪液试纸中有4份（4%）的SARS-CoV-2检测呈阳性。结膜拭子中E基因循环阈值（Ct值）的平均值为31.2（标准差5.0），左眼泪液试纸的Ct值平均值为32.9（标准差2.7）。总体而言，17例（30%）患者出现了眼部症状。眼部样本阳性与眼部症状之间未发现关联。本研究表明，在新冠肺炎患者的结膜和泪液中可检测到SARS-CoV-2。与眼表接触可能会传播病毒，应朝此方向采取预防措施。
