Scientists warn that Covid-19 could cause potentially dangerous “nodules” on patients’ EYES due to inflammation caused by the virus
- French doctors performed MRI scans on 129 patients with severely ill Covid-19
- They found evidence of eye nodules in nine of these hospitalized individuals
- It is currently unknown what determines their long-term health impact
From a dry cough to a high fever, it is known that coronavirus is associated with a number of unpleasant symptoms.
Now, a new study has revealed another potential side effect – nodules on the eyeballs.
Researchers have warned that coronavirus infection can trigger inflammation of the eyeballs and lead to the formation of mysterious nodules in the back of the organ.
Experts do not yet know what causes these nodules or the impact they have on a patient’s long-term health.
However, a study of 129 French patients who had severe Covid-19 and underwent MRI scans showed that nine of them (seven percent) had abnormalities.
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In the MRI scan image of a 56-year-old man with severe COVID-19. The patient was hospitalized in the intensive care unit for 20 days, when an MRI was performed. He was on a fan and in a prone position. This photo shows nodules in the back of the eyeball in the macular region (the tip of the white arrow) and the extramacular region (the tip of the black arrow). The arrow on the right shows a detached retina
Eight of the patients in the study were treated at one time in intensive care.
“We showed that several patients with severe COVID-19 in the French COVID-19 cohort had one or more nodules of the globe’s posterior pole,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Augustin Lecler of the University of Paris.
This is the first time that these findings have been described using NMR.
MRI images reveal at least one nodule on the macular region of the organ in affected individuals. This region is an integral part of the central vision.
The researchers believe that the nodules could be related to inflammation triggered by the virus, a common manifestation of the disease that attacks several organs.
In the image, another MRI image of the same French patient Covid, aged 56, the tip of the black arrow shows a nodule in the extramacular region of the visual organ. Experts do not yet know what causes or impacts they have on the patient’s long-term health
But they also theorize that the problem could be caused by patients lying on their foreheads in the hospital in a prone position, which accidentally prevents the veins from leaking.
Of the nine patients with eye nodules, two had diabetes, six were obese and two had hypertension.
The team behind the discovery also speculates that the nodules may be connected to the intubation for ventilation.
“Our study advocates screening all patients hospitalized in the ICU for severe COVID-19,” said Dr. Lecler.
“We believe those patients should receive specific eye protection treatments.”
Researchers perform clinical examinations and follow-up MRIs in survivors to monitor nodules and see if they have clinical consequences, such as vision loss or visual field impairment.
It also performs MRI examinations in new patients with severe COVID-19 in the second and third pandemic waves, using more rigorous tests.
Meanwhile, the effects on patients with moderate Covid are currently being investigated.
Dr. Lecler added: “We have launched a prospective study with dedicated high-resolution images to explore the eye and orbit in patients with mild to moderate Covid.
Therefore, we will be able to know whether our results were specific to patients with severe Covid or not.
The findings were published in the journal Radiology.