Ocular Adverse Events after Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccination

Abstract

Purpose: To report the clinical characteristics of ocular adverse events that have occurred, in China, after vaccination with inactivated COVID-19 vaccines. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional observational study was conducted of ocular disorders that occurred within 15 days from any dose of an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine. Information on gender, age, the interval between the vaccination and ocular symptoms, laterality, duration of the ocular symptoms, primary visual acuity, and clinical diagnosis were retrospectively collected. Results: Twenty-four patients were involved in the study, including 15 females and 9 males, with a mean age of 41 ± 16 years (range of 8–71 years). The patients all denied a prior history of COVID-19 infection. Ocular adverse events occurred after the first dose of vaccine in 18 patients and, after the second or third doses, in six patients. The interval between vaccination with the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine and ocular symptoms was 6 ± 5 days; six patients were bilaterally involved and 18 patients were unilaterally involved. Regarding the diagnosis, 10 patients were diagnosed with white dot syndrome (WDS), 9 patients were diagnosed with uveitis, and 5 patients were diagnosed with retinal vascular disorders. The ages of patients with WDS were younger than those with uveitis or retinal vascular disorders (32 ± 10 vs. 48 ± 18, p < 0.05). For patients diagnosed with WDS, the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 0.74 ± 0.73 LogMAR. For patients diagnosed with retinal vascular disorders or uveitis, the BCVA was 1.44 ± 1.26 LogMAR. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05). Conclusions: A relationship cannot be established between inactivated COVID-19 vaccines and ocular disorders; therefore, further investigation of the clinical spectrum of ocular adverse events after vaccination with an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine is necessary.

The characteristics of white dot syndromes following COVID-19 Vaccines: a systematic review

“…MRI: subtle enhancement of the right optic nerve in the retrobulbar area, while MRI findings in the area from the optic nerve head to the chiasm in the OS were normal Pfizer-BioNTech-BioNTech 2 2 Immediately developed malaise and limb pain. Two days later, the pain in her upper and lower extremities had decreased Cuadros Sánchezet al [ 47 ] Cunha Ângelo et al [ 71 ] NA NA NA Pfizer-BioNTech-BioNTech 2 14 NA Cunha Ângelo et al [ 71 ] Cunningham et al [ 72 ] NA NA NA Inactivated COVID 19 vaccine 2 5 NA Cunningham et al [ 72 ] Cunningham et al [ 72 ] NA NA NA Inactivated COVID 19 vaccine 1 7 NA Cunningham et al [ 72 ] Cunningham et al [ 72 ] NA NA NA Inactivated COVID 19 vaccine 1 4 NA Cunningham et al [ 72 ] Cunningham et al [ 72 ] NA NA NA Inactivated COVID 19 vaccine 1 2 NA …”

“…1) Thirtytwo were case reports (71.11%) [12,18,20,[24][25][26] and 13 were case series (31.11%). [17,[65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76] Sixty-four patients were included. Their age average was 32.60 ± 13.76 (mean ± SD).…”

The Characteristics of COVID-19 Vaccine-Associated Uveitis: A Summative Systematic Review

“…A total of 65 studies were both qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed ( Table 1 ) [ 1 , 5 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 ,…”

There Is No Evidence That Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccines Increase Risks of Uveitis Flare

“…Many cases of ocular events have been reported after COVID-19 vaccinations, such as facial nerve or abducens nerve palsy, acute macular neuroretinopathy, central serous retinopathy, multiple evanescent white dot syndrome, uveitis, and Graves’ Disease [ 8 , 10 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 30 , 31 ], among which the most common is uveitis. Since these inflammatory-associated cases followed soon after vaccination, it raises suspicion that COVID-19 vaccine may be related to the onset of uveitis.…”

“…Thus, clinicians are responsible for giving deliberate and authoritative instructions about vaccinations to these patients. Although there were some cases of new onset of uveitis after inactivated COVID-19 vaccines reported [ 10 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ], the causality should be determined by more convincing well-designed studies. The current study aimed to evaluate the risk of uveitis reactivation upon inactivated COVID-19 vaccination in the Chinese population with non-infectious chronic or recurrent uveitis.…”