Retrospective Analysis of Retinal Imaging in COVID-19 Positive Patients at a Tertiary Eye Care Center

Neal S Patel,1,* Jade Y Moon,1,* Raviv Katz,1 Karen M Wai,1 Lucia Sobrin,2 Demetrios G Vavvas,2 John B Miller1,2 1Harvard Retinal Imaging Lab, Mass Eye and Ear, Boston, MA, USA; 2Retina Service, Mass Eye and Ear, Boston, MA, USA*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: John B MillerRetina Service, Mass Eye and Ear, Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Retinal Imaging Lab, 243 Charles St, Boston, MA, 02114, USATel +617 573-3750Fax +617 573-3698Email john_miller@meei.harvard.eduPurpose: Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous authors have published data demonstrating retinal changes found in patients with COVID-19. However, others have debated the significance of these findings and the effects of COVID-19 on the retina remain uncertain. This study aims to better understand retinal findings in patients with COVID-19.Patients and Methods: A retrospective review of patients with a history of a positive COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction test was performed between March 1st, 2020 and October 31st, 2020. Patients were included if they presented within 90 days of their first positive COVID-19 test and underwent color fundus photography and/or OCT of the macula. All images were reviewed by two independent graders who assessed the presence of retinal heme, cotton wool spots, vascular sheathing, and disc edema, as well as hyper-reflective changes, intra-retinal fluid, and sub-retinal fluid on OCT.Results: A total of 119 eyes from 61 patients were included. Among 83 eyes which underwent OCT of the macula, inner retinal hyper-reflective changes were seen in 16.9% (n=14), outer retinal hyper-reflective changes in 18.1% (n=15), intra-retinal fluid in 28.9% (n=24), and sub-retinal fluid in 14.5% (n=12). Among 48 eyes which underwent color fundus photography, retinal hemorrhage was seen in 27.1% (n=13), optic disc edema in 2.1% (n=1), and cotton wool spots in none of the eyes. Sub-analysis of 70 eyes fro