Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Conjunctival Swab Samples Among Patients Presenting with Conjunctivitis During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Sezen Karakus,1 James Foster,1 Xi Dai,1,2 Anthony Gonzales,1 Xi Zhu,1,3 Charles Eberhart,1 William Hsu1,4 1Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; 2Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; 3Department of Biology, Public Health St...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Dove Medical Press
2022-01-01
|
| Series: | Clinical Ophthalmology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.dovepress.com/prevalence-of-sars-cov-2-in-conjunctival-swab-samples-among-patients-p-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-OPTH |
| _version_ | 1828132490548609024 |
|---|---|
| author | Karakus S Foster J Dai X Gonzales A Zhu X Eberhart C Hsu W |
| author_facet | Karakus S Foster J Dai X Gonzales A Zhu X Eberhart C Hsu W |
| author_sort | Karakus S |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sezen Karakus,1 James Foster,1 Xi Dai,1,2 Anthony Gonzales,1 Xi Zhu,1,3 Charles Eberhart,1 William Hsu1,4 1Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; 2Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; 3Department of Biology, Public Health Studies, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; 4Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USACorrespondence: Sezen KarakusWilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Maumenee 741, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USATel +1 410 955 0128Fax +1 410 614 1670Email skarakus@jhmi.eduPurpose: To investigate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2-associated conjunctivitis among patients presenting with conjunctivitis to ophthalmology clinics in the absence of respiratory symptoms suggesting COVID-19 during the first year of the pandemic.Patients and Methods: This prospective, observational, cross-sectional study enrolled patients aged 18 years and older who presented with acute conjunctivitis between May 2020 and May 2021. After reviewing demographics, ocular and systemic symptoms, a slit lamp examination was performed. Five samples were collected (conjunctival swab from each eye, nasal swab from each nostril, and a nasopharyngeal swab) in separate tubes for a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test for SARS-CoV-2. Patients were called at 1 and 2 weeks to follow up on their ocular and systemic symptoms and collect information about conjunctival adenovirus test results and COVID-19 test results if performed outside of the study.Results: A total of 36 patients were enrolled. The most common ocular symptom was redness (35/36, 97%), and 14 patients (39%) had symptoms in both eyes at the time of the presentation. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was not detected in any samples collected during the study visit (95% confidence interval [CI] from 0 to 0.08). None of the study participants were diagnosed with COVID-19 following conjunctivitis during the 2-week follow-up period. We found that 25 patients had a conjunctival adenovirus test done on the day of their study visit, 9 of which reported positive results.Conclusion: Our data suggest that it may not be valuable to obtain routine testing of SARS-CoV-2 in patients presenting with conjunctivitis in the absence of COVID-19.Keywords: adenovirus, conjunctivitis, coronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T17:04:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-341b6ab4329d4881b5935e147ae456d6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1177-5483 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T17:04:33Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Dove Medical Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Clinical Ophthalmology |
| spelling | doaj.art-341b6ab4329d4881b5935e147ae456d62022-12-22T04:13:04ZengDove Medical PressClinical Ophthalmology1177-54832022-01-01Volume 1612713372263Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Conjunctival Swab Samples Among Patients Presenting with Conjunctivitis During the COVID-19 PandemicKarakus SFoster JDai XGonzales AZhu XEberhart CHsu WSezen Karakus,1 James Foster,1 Xi Dai,1,2 Anthony Gonzales,1 Xi Zhu,1,3 Charles Eberhart,1 William Hsu1,4 1Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; 2Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; 3Department of Biology, Public Health Studies, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; 4Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USACorrespondence: Sezen KarakusWilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Maumenee 741, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USATel +1 410 955 0128Fax +1 410 614 1670Email skarakus@jhmi.eduPurpose: To investigate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2-associated conjunctivitis among patients presenting with conjunctivitis to ophthalmology clinics in the absence of respiratory symptoms suggesting COVID-19 during the first year of the pandemic.Patients and Methods: This prospective, observational, cross-sectional study enrolled patients aged 18 years and older who presented with acute conjunctivitis between May 2020 and May 2021. After reviewing demographics, ocular and systemic symptoms, a slit lamp examination was performed. Five samples were collected (conjunctival swab from each eye, nasal swab from each nostril, and a nasopharyngeal swab) in separate tubes for a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test for SARS-CoV-2. Patients were called at 1 and 2 weeks to follow up on their ocular and systemic symptoms and collect information about conjunctival adenovirus test results and COVID-19 test results if performed outside of the study.Results: A total of 36 patients were enrolled. The most common ocular symptom was redness (35/36, 97%), and 14 patients (39%) had symptoms in both eyes at the time of the presentation. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was not detected in any samples collected during the study visit (95% confidence interval [CI] from 0 to 0.08). None of the study participants were diagnosed with COVID-19 following conjunctivitis during the 2-week follow-up period. We found that 25 patients had a conjunctival adenovirus test done on the day of their study visit, 9 of which reported positive results.Conclusion: Our data suggest that it may not be valuable to obtain routine testing of SARS-CoV-2 in patients presenting with conjunctivitis in the absence of COVID-19.Keywords: adenovirus, conjunctivitis, coronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2https://www.dovepress.com/prevalence-of-sars-cov-2-in-conjunctival-swab-samples-among-patients-p-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-OPTHadenovirusconjunctivitiscoronaviruscovid-19sars-cov-2 |
| spellingShingle | Karakus S Foster J Dai X Gonzales A Zhu X Eberhart C Hsu W Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Conjunctival Swab Samples Among Patients Presenting with Conjunctivitis During the COVID-19 Pandemic Clinical Ophthalmology adenovirus conjunctivitis coronavirus covid-19 sars-cov-2 |
| title | Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Conjunctival Swab Samples Among Patients Presenting with Conjunctivitis During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full | Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Conjunctival Swab Samples Among Patients Presenting with Conjunctivitis During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Conjunctival Swab Samples Among Patients Presenting with Conjunctivitis During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Conjunctival Swab Samples Among Patients Presenting with Conjunctivitis During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_short | Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Conjunctival Swab Samples Among Patients Presenting with Conjunctivitis During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_sort | prevalence of sars cov 2 in conjunctival swab samples among patients presenting with conjunctivitis during the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | adenovirus conjunctivitis coronavirus covid-19 sars-cov-2 |
| url | https://www.dovepress.com/prevalence-of-sars-cov-2-in-conjunctival-swab-samples-among-patients-p-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-OPTH |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT karakuss prevalenceofsarscov2inconjunctivalswabsamplesamongpatientspresentingwithconjunctivitisduringthecovid19pandemic AT fosterj prevalenceofsarscov2inconjunctivalswabsamplesamongpatientspresentingwithconjunctivitisduringthecovid19pandemic AT daix prevalenceofsarscov2inconjunctivalswabsamplesamongpatientspresentingwithconjunctivitisduringthecovid19pandemic AT gonzalesa prevalenceofsarscov2inconjunctivalswabsamplesamongpatientspresentingwithconjunctivitisduringthecovid19pandemic AT zhux prevalenceofsarscov2inconjunctivalswabsamplesamongpatientspresentingwithconjunctivitisduringthecovid19pandemic AT eberhartc prevalenceofsarscov2inconjunctivalswabsamplesamongpatientspresentingwithconjunctivitisduringthecovid19pandemic AT hsuw prevalenceofsarscov2inconjunctivalswabsamplesamongpatientspresentingwithconjunctivitisduringthecovid19pandemic |