Vision Loss in COVID-19 Patient: Case Study Provides Better Insight on Possible Connection Between the Two

A man who had recently recovered from severe COVID-19 infection experienced vision loss in his right eye, providing better insight into how the two conditions could be possibly linked.

A ScienceAlert report specified that a case study of a man from the United States who suffered vision loss for two days could offer further understanding into how COVID-19 is messing with one's immune system in ways that lead the body to attack itself.

Like the thousands of people in the US every day, a patient in his 70s, whose name is not provided, experienced a runny nose and was diagnosed with COVID-19. After three weeks, he went to the hospital, reporting other related symptoms.

In a report detailed by a group of doctors from the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, the patient had recovered from how this report described as the "worst bout of COVID-19," only to come down one week after, with a headache.

The incidence was then followed by vanishing vision in the man's right eye until it reached the point when he could only make out broad gestures. The report specified, any movement the patient made with that eye induced severe pain, as well.

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Link Between Vision Loss and COVID-19

Instances of vision loss following a COVID-19 infection are unusual although they are not unheard of, either, with several case reports suggesting potential links.

Where this particular case stands out is in the symptoms' combination, which includes intense headaches and feelings of discomfort in the eye itself.

A CT scan rapidly showed the source of the agony of the patient was severely in inflamed sinuses. Such an inflammation was extended down the right side of the man's face.

As indicated in the study, Acute Vision Loss From IgG4-Related and Bacterial Rhinosinusitis After COVID-19, published in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, the case was very serious, it was leading the bone itself to wear down, requiring an emergency procedure to eliminate much of the inflamed material as possible from each cavity.

The surgery appeared to be a successful scheme, initially. However, soon, the pain recurred and the patient's vision worsened again.

Presence of Bacterium

Shown in the tissue cultures is the presence of the Streptococcus constellatus bacterium. Described in ScienceDirect at home in the oral cavity and intestines, this so-called "happy human bug" can specifically become nasty when relocated to the other parts of the body.

Further investigation showed a predominance of a white blood cell's active type on the prowl, one that usually churns out a strange tiny antibody known as IgG4.

Different from the usual antibody, IgG4 is capable of reconstructing itself in clever ways which are turning them into asymmetrical patchworks.

It has got a reputation as well, for leading its own set of problems through IgG4-related disease or RD, an autoimmune condition that can attack any body part, whipping up the infection and causing pain and misery in many ways in highly-fibrotic lesion forms.

Diagnosed with IgG4-related rhinosinusitis, the man was provided with a course of steroids. Soon, he got back to good health, including a clear vision. After three weeks, the patient got fully recovered.

Related information about COVID-19's impact on eye health is shown on Mount Sinai Health System's YouTube video below: