Is orbital wall fracture associated with SARS-CoV-2 ocular surface contamination in asymptomatic COVID-19 patients?
Int Ophthalmol
; 43(4): 1369-1374, 2023 Apr.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36152172
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
To assess the relationship between orbital wall fractures connecting to paranasal sinuses (OWF-PNS) and SARS-CoV-2 ocular surface contamination (SARS-CoV-2-OSC) in asymptomatic COVID-19 patients.METHODS:
This was a prospective case-control study enrolling two asymptomatic COVID-19 patient cohorts with vs. without OWF-PNS in the case-control ratio of 14. All subjects were treated in a German level 1 trauma center during a one-year interval. The main predictor variable was the presence of OWF-PNS (case/control); cases with preoperative conjunctival positivity of SARS-CoV-2 were excluded to rule out the possibility of viral dissemination via the lacrimal gland and/or the nasolacrimal system. The main outcome variable was laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2-OSC (yes/no). Descriptive and bivariate statistics were computed with a statistically significant P ≤ 0.05.RESULTS:
The samples comprised 11 cases and 44 controls (overall 27.3% females; mean age, 52.7 ± 20.3 years [range, 19-85]). There was a significant association between OWF-PNS and SARS-CoV-2-OSC (P = 0.0001; odds ratio = 20.8; 95% confidence interval = 4.11-105.2; R-squared = 0.38; accuracy = 85.5%), regardless of orbital fracture location (orbital floor vs. medial wall versus both; P = 1.0).CONCLUSIONS:
Asymptomatic COVID-19 patients with OWF-PNS are associated with a considerable and almost 21-fold increase in the risk of SARS-CoV-2-OSC, in comparison with those without facial fracture. This could suggest that OWF-PNS is the viral source, requiring particular attention during manipulation of ocular/orbital tissue to prevent viral transmission.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Orbital Fractures
/
COVID-19
/
Lacrimal Apparatus
/
Nasolacrimal Duct
Type of study:
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
En
Journal:
Int Ophthalmol
Year:
2023
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Alemania