Cilioretinal artery occlusion with paracentral acute middle maculopathy associated with COVID-19

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to describe cilioretinal artery (CILRA) occlusion that is presumed to be associated with COVID-19 without severe respiratory distress and inform ophthalmologists of unusual ocular presentations of COVID-19. Here, we present the first case of a patient with isolated CILRA occlusion and paracentral acute middle maculopathy (PAMM) after recently polymerase chain reaction-proven COVID-19. A 26-year-old female patient presented with a visual field defect in her left eye for 2 days and decreased vision compared to her right eye. It was learned that the patient had a laboratory-proven COVID-19 infection with mild respiratory symptoms that did not require hospitalization 2 weeks ago. Fundus examination revealed retinal edema in the left eye area supplied by the CILRA. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography revealed a prominent hyperreflective band at the inner nuclear layer level. These findings led us to the diagnosis of isolated CILRA occlusion and PAMM associated with recent COVID-19. CILRA occlusion and PAMM could be associated with the inflammatory and procoagulant condition caused by the SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Keywords

• cilioretinal artery occlusion
• covid-19
• ophthalmology
• paracentral acute middle maculopathy retina
• sars-cov-2