Symptoms of Covid-19: ‘Nodules’ found on patients’ eyeballs

by



[ad_1]

Covid-19 could cause potentially dangerous’ nodules’ on patients’ EYE BALLS due to virus-triggered inflammation, scientists warn

  • French doctors performed MRI scans on 129 critically ill Covid-19 patients
  • They found signs of eye nodules in nine of those hospitalized
  • Their causes and long-term impact on health are currently unknown.

By Joe Pinkstone For Mailonline

Posted: | Update:

From a dry cough to a high fever, the coronavirus is known to be linked to a range of unpleasant symptoms.

Now a new study has revealed another potential side effect – nodules on the eyeballs.

Researchers have warned that coronavirus infection can trigger inflammation of the eyeballs and cause mysterious nodules to form on the back of the organ.

Experts do not yet know what causes these nodules or their impact on a patient’s long-term health.

However, a study of 129 French patients with severe Covid-19 who underwent an MRI found that nine of them (7%) suffered from abnormalities.

Scroll down the video

Photographed the MRI scan of a 56-year-old man with severe COVID-19. The patient had been hospitalized in the intensive care unit for 20 days during an MRI. He was on a ventilator and in a supine position. This photo shows nodules on the back of the eyeball in the macular region (white arrowhead) and the extramacular region (black arrowhead). The arrow to the right indicates a detached retina

Photographed the MRI scan of a 56-year-old man with severe COVID-19. The patient had been hospitalized in the intensive care unit for 20 days during an MRI. He was on a ventilator and in a supine position. This photo shows nodules on the back of the eyeball in the macular region (white arrowhead) and the extramacular region (black arrowhead). The arrow to the right indicates a detached retina

Eight of the patients in the study have been treated in intensive care at some point.

“We have shown that a few patients with severe COVID-19 from the French COVID-19 cohort had one or more nodules from the posterior pole of the globe,” said lead author of the study, Dr. Augustin Lecler of the University of Paris.

“This is the first time that these results have been described using MRI.

Images produced by MRI reveal at least one nodule on the macular region of the organ in affected individuals. This region is an integral part of central vision.

Researchers believe the nodules may be linked to inflammation triggered by the virus, a common manifestation of the disease that attacks multiple organs.

In the photo, another MRI image of the same 56-year-old French Covid patient, the black arrowhead shows a nodule in the extramacular region of the visual organ. Experts do not yet know the causes or the impact they have on the patient's long-term health

In the photo, another MRI image of the same 56-year-old French Covid patient, the black arrowhead shows a nodule in the extramacular region of the visual organ. Experts do not yet know the causes or the impact they have on the patient’s long-term health

Scientists study whether coronavirus patients with neurological symptoms are affected in the long term

The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus which causes Covid-19 is known to infect the brain and affect the body’s neural network.

Now scientists are studying the long-term impact of these symptoms, to see if the virus is causing lasting neurological damage.

Researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden are following the progress of 19 people who caught the virus last year and developed neurological symptoms.

The severity of illness in the cohort ranged from mild to critical, and all participants recovered, with symptoms ranging from delirium to coma.

Eight people participating in the study (42%) had an ‘altered mental state’ and eight also had headaches from their Covid-19.

But they also theorize that the problem could be caused by patients lying on their foreheads in hospital lying down, which inadvertently prevents drainage of the veins.

Of the nine patients with eye nodules, two were diabetic, six were obese, and two had hypertension.

The team behind the discovery also speculates that the nodules could be linked to intubation for ventilation.

“Our study calls for screening all ICU hospital patients for severe COVID-19,” said Dr. Lecler.

“We believe that these patients should receive specific eye protection treatments.”

Researchers perform follow-up clinical and MRI exams on survivors to monitor for nodules and see if they are causing clinical consequences such as vision loss or visual field impairment.

They are also performing MRI scans on new patients with severe COVID-19 from the second and third waves of the pandemic, using more rigorous testing.

Meanwhile, the effects on patients with moderate Covid are currently under investigation.

Dr Lecler added: “We have launched a prospective study with high resolution images dedicated to exploring the eye and orbit in patients with mild to moderate Covid.

“Therefore, we will be able to know whether our results were specific to patients with severe Covid or not.

The results were published in the journal Radiology.



[ad_2]

Source link