DR. KANISHK KHARE

DR. RAJESH NAYAK, DR. CHANDAK ANSHUL, DR.AJAY R KAMATH, DR. SANGEETHA JEGANATHAN

Abstract

Purpose: To detect the presence of SAR-CoV-2 viral RNA in conjunctival secretions of COVID-19 patients. Methods: Eighty hospitalized COVID-19 patients whose nasopharyngeal swab tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR were included in the study. Conjunctival swab was collected from eyes of these patients and sent for detection of SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR method. Results: Mean age of the patients was 55.93 ± 16.59 years. Six patients had ocular manifestations. Eleven (13.75%) patients tested positive on conjunctival swab for SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA and only one of them had ocular manifestations out of the eleven. Conclusion: In our study the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in conjunctival secretions of COVID-19 patients was detected and this was not dependent on presence of ocular manifestations or duration of disease. Though the conjunctival positivity is lower compared to the nasopharyngeal swab sampling, ocular surface and secretions can be a potential route of viral transmission.