The Outbreak of Acute Primary Angle-Closure Cases During the COVID-19 Omicron Variant Pandemic at a Tertiary Eye Center in Shanghai

Abstract

Haili Huang,1 Yi Dai,1 Xinghuai Sun,1– 3,* Yuan Fang1,* 1Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Science, Eye & ENT Hospital, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200031, People’s Republic of China; 2State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, People’s Republic of China; 3NHC Key Laboratory of Myopia, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Visual Impairment and Restoration, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200031, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xinghuai Sun; Yuan Fang, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: This study aimed to investigate the outbreak of acute primary angle-closure (APAC) during the COVID-19 Omicron variant pandemic in Shanghai.Methods: This single-center retrospective observational study included all newly diagnosed patients with APAC in Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat Hospital of Fudan University from December 15, 2022, to January 14, 2023 (pandemic group) during the COVID-19 pandemic of Omicron Variant, and from November 15, 2021, to February 14, 2022 (control group) when the infection rate of COVID-19 is very low in Shanghai. Demographic features, intraocular pressure, axial length, anterior chamber depth, lens thickness and pupil diameter were compared between the two groups.Results: A total of 223 patients (261 eyes) were included in the pandemic group and 75 patients (82 eyes) in the control group. The number of APAC patients and eyes in the pandemic group is 8.92-fold and 9.55-fold of the monthly average number in the control group. The onset dates of acute angle-closure were mainly between December 17 and December 31, 2022. In the pandemic group, 72.65% of patients with APAC had a recent COVID-19 infection. Among the COVID-19-positive patients, 72% suffered APAC attacks within 24h of the occurrence of COVID-19 symptoms and 92% within 3 days. The pandemic group showed a longer time from symptoms to treatment and larger pupil diameter than the control group (7.92 ± 6.14 vs 3.63 ± 2.93 days, p = 0.006; 4.53 ± 1.17 vs 3.78 ± 1.24 mm, p = 0.003, respectively).Conclusion: An outbreak of APAC attack was observed in our eye center during the COVID-19 Omicron variant pandemic in Shanghai. There may be a correlation between the onset of APAC and new COVID-19 Omicron variant infection, but the exact reason needs to be investigated further.Keywords: acute primary angle-closure, COVID-19 pandemic, omicron variant, Shanghai

Keywords

• acute primary angle-closure
• covid-19 pandemic
• omicron variant
• shanghai