tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Indian J Ophthalmol
. 2020 Jun;68(6):1015-1017.
doi: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_1287_20.
Presence of Viral RNA of SARS-CoV-2 in Conjunctival Swab Specimens of COVID-19 Patients
Kiran Kumar[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Akshata A Prakash[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Suresh Babu Gangasagara[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Sujatha B L Rathod[SUP] 1 [/SUP], K Ravi[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Ambica Rangaiah[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Sathyanarayan Muthur Shankar[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Shantala Gowdara Basawarajappa[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Shashi Bhushan[SUP] 4 [/SUP], T G Neeraja[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Srinivas Khandenahalli[SUP] 1 [/SUP], M Swetha[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Priyam Gupta[SUP] 1 [/SUP], U C Sampritha[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Guru N S Prasad[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Chakravarthy Raghunathan Jayanthi[SUP] 5 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Purpose: To detect the presence of viral RNA of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in conjunctival swab specimens of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) patients.
Methods: Forty-five COVID-19 patients positive for real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal swab with or without ocular manifestations were included in the study. The conjunctival swab of each patient was collected by an ophthalmologist posted for COVID duty.
Results: Out of 45 patients, 35 (77.77%) were males and the rest were females. The mean age was 31.26 ? 12.81 years. None of the patients had any ocular manifestations. One (2.23%) out of 45 patients was positive for RT-PCR SARS-CoV-2 in the conjunctival swab.
Conclusion: This study shows that SARS-CoV-2 can be detected in conjunctival swabs of confirmed cases of COVID-19 patients. Though the positivity rate of detecting SARS-CoV-2 in conjunctival swabs is very less, care should be exercised during the ocular examination of patients of COVID-19.
Keywords: Conjunctival swab; SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus disease-19; nasopharyngeal swab.
. 2020 Jun;68(6):1015-1017.
doi: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_1287_20.
Presence of Viral RNA of SARS-CoV-2 in Conjunctival Swab Specimens of COVID-19 Patients
Kiran Kumar[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Akshata A Prakash[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Suresh Babu Gangasagara[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Sujatha B L Rathod[SUP] 1 [/SUP], K Ravi[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Ambica Rangaiah[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Sathyanarayan Muthur Shankar[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Shantala Gowdara Basawarajappa[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Shashi Bhushan[SUP] 4 [/SUP], T G Neeraja[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Srinivas Khandenahalli[SUP] 1 [/SUP], M Swetha[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Priyam Gupta[SUP] 1 [/SUP], U C Sampritha[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Guru N S Prasad[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Chakravarthy Raghunathan Jayanthi[SUP] 5 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 32461418
- DOI: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_1287_20
Abstract
Purpose: To detect the presence of viral RNA of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in conjunctival swab specimens of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) patients.
Methods: Forty-five COVID-19 patients positive for real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal swab with or without ocular manifestations were included in the study. The conjunctival swab of each patient was collected by an ophthalmologist posted for COVID duty.
Results: Out of 45 patients, 35 (77.77%) were males and the rest were females. The mean age was 31.26 ? 12.81 years. None of the patients had any ocular manifestations. One (2.23%) out of 45 patients was positive for RT-PCR SARS-CoV-2 in the conjunctival swab.
Conclusion: This study shows that SARS-CoV-2 can be detected in conjunctival swabs of confirmed cases of COVID-19 patients. Though the positivity rate of detecting SARS-CoV-2 in conjunctival swabs is very less, care should be exercised during the ocular examination of patients of COVID-19.
Keywords: Conjunctival swab; SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus disease-19; nasopharyngeal swab.