Retinal and peripapillary vessel density increase in recovered COVID-19 children by optical coherence tomography angiography.

PURPOSE: To evaluate retinal vascular changes in children who have recovered from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and to compare the results with age-matched healthy children.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional case-control study, children 6-18 years of age with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were compared with historic healthy controls. All participants underwent ophthalmological examination, including fundus photography and OCTA of the macular region and optic disk. COVID-19 children were examined 4-8 weeks after COVID-19 diagnoses. Demographic data, medical history, and COVID-19 symptoms were noted. OCTA parameters in the superficial capillary plexus (SCP) were analyzed according to ETDRS sectors and peripapillary quadrants.

RESULTS

A total of 72 patients were included: 27 recovered COVID-19 children and 45 controls. Mean age for cases was 11.96 ± 3.8 years (18 females [66%]); for controls, 11.02 ± 2.0 years (29 females [64%]). Macular OCTA of the SCP showed a significant increase in retinal vessel density (VD) in recovered COVID-19 children compared with healthy controls in the inner ring (P = 0.001). Macular perfusion density (mPD) was also increased in the inner ring (P = 0.001). Peripapillary OCTA evidenced a significant higher flux index (FI) in all four quadrants (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Recovered COVID-19 children present increased retinal VD, mPD, and peripapillary FI shortly after recovery. Since the retinal vasculature is considered a unique window to assess microvascular changes, these findings may represent a potential in vivo biomarker of vascular abnormalities in COVID-19 children in other organs.