Ocular inflammatory manifestations following COVID-19 vaccinations in Taiwan: A case series

Abstract

As a continuing demand for booster shots against SARS-CoV-2, ocular adverse events following the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccines can cause significant visual impairment, and they warrant a high awareness and detailed documentation of possible ocular inflammatory manifestations. We present a case series of 11 patients presenting with ocular manifestations relevant to vaccine-associated autoimmune response within 6 weeks after the vaccination of the Oxford–AstraZeneca, the Moderna, and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines at the main tertiary referral center in the most populated and most vaccinated city in Taiwan. Their diagnosis included five acute anterior uveitis, two multiple evanescent white dot syndrome, one probable Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada disease, one anterior scleritis, one relapsed idiopathic panuveitis, and one autoantibody-related central retinal artery occlusion. This report presented a broad spectrum of the ocular inflammatory events following the vaccination of COVID-19. Early recognition of the clinical manifestations mentioned herein with prompt management is crucial in recovering the patients' vision.

Keywords

• choroid
• intraocular inflammation
• retina
• uveitis
• vascular occlusion