Some COVID-19 patients face sudden vision loss: Expert

By Ilhami Erkilic

ERZURUM, Turkey (AA) - COVID-19 may cause a sudden vision loss due to retinal vein occlusion, said a Turkish health expert.

Dr. Orhan Ates, a professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Turkey's Ataturk University in the eastern Erzurum province, told Anadolu Agency that they have received some young COVID-19 patients with sudden vision losses.

"After examinations and tests, we founded that the vision loss was caused by COVID-19-related retinal vein occlusion. In addition to medical therapy, we applied hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat these patients," said Ates, also the deputy chief physician of the university's research hospital.

"As a result of treatments, the patients recovered almost all damage COVID-19 caused in the retina, and the vision levels returned to normal," he added.

He underlined that the cases as mentioned are also important due to the local effect on the eye alongside the systemic side effects of the disease.

"We shared with the world scientific circles that COVID-19 can cause retinal vein occlusion as well as the way it can be treated," Ates noted.

The pandemic has claimed more than 2.42 million lives in 192 countries and regions since it first appeared in December 2019.

Over 109.57 million cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries now above 61.64 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.​​​​​​​

The US, India, and Brazil remain the worst-hit countries in terms of case numbers.

*Writing by Seda Sevencan in Ankara