COVID-19 presenting as a non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy

Marina Romozzi; Giulia Amorelli; Maria Cristina Savastano; Anna Laura Fedele; Fabio Amorelli; Stanislao Rizzo; Matteo Lucchini; Massimiliano Mirabella; Viviana Nociti

doi:10.1177/11206721221149762

COVID-19 presenting as a non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy

Eur J Ophthalmol. 2023 Nov;33(6):NP133-NP136. doi: 10.1177/11206721221149762. Epub 2023 Jan 9.

Authors

Marina Romozzi^{1

2}, Giulia Amorelli³, Maria Cristina Savastano³, Anna Laura Fedele⁴, Fabio Amorelli⁵, Stanislao Rizzo³, Matteo Lucchini^{1

2}, Massimiliano Mirabella^{1

2}, Viviana Nociti^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ UOC di Neurologia, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
² Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
³ UOC di Oftalmologia, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Roma, Italy.
⁴ UOC di Reumatologia, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
⁵ Centro Oculistico Amorelli, Corso Italia 35, Gaeta, Italy.

Abstract

We present a case of a 61-year-old woman with an atypical non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NA-AION) as a unique manifestation of COVID-19. Furthermore, the patient worsened after Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine administration. Our findings suggest that NA-AION could result from microangiopathic/thrombotic events that may occur during SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or vaccination against COVID-19. This report sheds light on possible ophthalmologic complications of COVID-19.

Keywords: optic nerve‌; optical coherence tomography angiography‌; vaccine‌; ‌SARS-CoV-2.