The aim of this study was to analyse retinal microvascular abnormalities in patients with various degrees of severity of the course of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), with a focus on patients requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) or mechanical ventilation (MV). We subclassified the patients after COVID-19 into 3 groups based on the severity of the disease and then performed standard ophthalmic examination, optical coherence tomography (OCT), macular OCT angiography (OCT-A) and retinal oximetry (RO). A total of 32 patients (21 men and 11 women; mean age of 51 years) were included in the study. Group 1 (mild COVID-19 course) included 11 patients, group 2 (moderate course) included 8 patients, and group 3 (severe course) included 13 patients which is particularly noteworthy. The median time after COVID-19 recovery was 22 months. No statistically significant difference between the groups was detected in any of the parameters of interest, suggesting resilience of retinal vasculature post-COVID-19. Patients after full recovery from severe COVID-19 do not show any significant decrease in oxygen saturation of retinal vessels 1.5 years (median) after the episode. Our data show that even a severe course of COVID-19 with ECMO or MV does not cause chronic microvascular changes in the retina.

Department of Ophthalmology 1st Faculty of Medicine Military University Hospital Prague Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Department of Ophthalmology Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry Palacky University Olomouc Olomouc Czech Republic

Department of Ophthalmology University Hospital Olomouc Olomouc Czech Republic

Department of Respiratory Diseases and Tuberculosis Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry Palacky University Olomouc Olomouc Czech Republic

Department of Respiratory Diseases and Tuberculosis University Hospital Olomouc Olomouc Czech Republic

Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry Center for Digital Health Palacky University Olomouc Olomouc Czech Republic

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