A Case of Hypertensive Anterior Uveitis with Endotheliitis of the Cornea Following COVID-19 Pneumonia

Abstract

Purpose: We report a patient diagnosed with COVID-19-associated hypertensive anterior uveitis and endotheliitis of the cornea.Case Summary: A 71-year-old male visited our hospital with decreased visual acuity, ocular pain, eyelid swelling of in his right eye, and headache for 8 days. He had been diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia 10 days before the visit. The best-corrected visual acuity was 0.04 in his right eye and 0.15 in his left eye. Severe conjunctival injection, moderate corneal edema with Descemet membrane folding, diffuse keratic precipitates and mild anterior chamber reaction were observed in the right eye, which were not present in the previous examination. Pupils in both eyes were moderately dilated and slow to react in response to direct light. The density of endothelial cells in the right eye was 711 cells/mm2 and an owl’s eye morphology of endothelial cells was observed via specular microscopy. During follow up, elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in the right eye was noted. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) examination of the aqueous humor for cytomegalovirus was negative. After 2 weeks of applying prednisolone eye drops and anti-glaucoma eye drops, corneal edema decreased, and his vision improved to 0.5. However, the density of the corneal endothelium remained low.Conclusions: Although there have been worldwide case reports of conjunctivitis, keratitis, or uveitis after COVID-19 infection, this study presents the first reported case of COVID-19 associated hypertensive anterior uveitis and endotheliitis of the cornea.