tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Cornea
. 2020 Sep 8.
doi: 10.1097/ICO.0000000000002562. Online ahead of print.
Detection of coronavirus in tear samples of hospitalized patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 from oropharyngeal swabs
R Michael Dutescu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Peter Banasik[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Oliver Schildgen[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Norbert Schrage[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Daniel Uthoff[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Purpose: This study was designed to detect CoV-RNA in the tears of PCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 positive patients.
Methods: We performed a prospective case-series study of hospitalized patients that have been confirmed SARS-CoV-2 positive by oropharyngeal swab within the previous 5 days. Tear samples obtained with a laboratory capillary and oropharyngeal swabs were analyzed by RT-PCR using the Altona SARS-CoV-2-Assay or the Roche SARS-CoV-2 LightMix PCR, depending on availability. Patients history was documented, ophthalmoscopy was used to assess for ocular surface disease.
Results: Of all 18 patients recruited in April 2020, 5 suffered from respiratory failure and were submitted to an intensive care unit. None of our patients had signs of viral conjunctivitis although all patients in intensive care showed chemosis and conjunctival hyperemia due to third-spacing or fluid overload. Presence of Coronavirus RNA was confirmed by PCR in 5 out of 18 patients (28%) in tears and 72% for oropharyngeal swabs.
Conclusions: Using a tear fluid sampling technique similar to oropharyngeal lavage presents a higher percentage of SARS-CoV-2 positive tears in contrast to earlier reports which used a conjunctival swab. This does not automatically indicate viral shedding in ocular tissue, or contagiousness of tear fluid.
. 2020 Sep 8.
doi: 10.1097/ICO.0000000000002562. Online ahead of print.
Detection of coronavirus in tear samples of hospitalized patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 from oropharyngeal swabs
R Michael Dutescu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Peter Banasik[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Oliver Schildgen[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Norbert Schrage[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Daniel Uthoff[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 32897895
- DOI: 10.1097/ICO.0000000000002562
Abstract
Purpose: This study was designed to detect CoV-RNA in the tears of PCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 positive patients.
Methods: We performed a prospective case-series study of hospitalized patients that have been confirmed SARS-CoV-2 positive by oropharyngeal swab within the previous 5 days. Tear samples obtained with a laboratory capillary and oropharyngeal swabs were analyzed by RT-PCR using the Altona SARS-CoV-2-Assay or the Roche SARS-CoV-2 LightMix PCR, depending on availability. Patients history was documented, ophthalmoscopy was used to assess for ocular surface disease.
Results: Of all 18 patients recruited in April 2020, 5 suffered from respiratory failure and were submitted to an intensive care unit. None of our patients had signs of viral conjunctivitis although all patients in intensive care showed chemosis and conjunctival hyperemia due to third-spacing or fluid overload. Presence of Coronavirus RNA was confirmed by PCR in 5 out of 18 patients (28%) in tears and 72% for oropharyngeal swabs.
Conclusions: Using a tear fluid sampling technique similar to oropharyngeal lavage presents a higher percentage of SARS-CoV-2 positive tears in contrast to earlier reports which used a conjunctival swab. This does not automatically indicate viral shedding in ocular tissue, or contagiousness of tear fluid.