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C.3 Pós-Doutorado – Ciências da Saúde
C – FORMAÇÃO – PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO SENSO STRICTO
Centro Universitário FMABC Matrícula nº 960048 Orientador: Prof. Dr. Fernando Luiz Affonso Fonseca Período: 2020 - Atual
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*** Artigo submetido referente ao Pós-Doutorado, aguardando aceite da revista.
Lima VL, Pereira LA, Soares LCM, et al. Can the detection or not of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in tears be used for hospital bed management? BMJ Open Ophthalmology, 2021.
Abstract: Objective: To assess the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in tears and conjunctival secretions of patients hospitalized with moderate-to-severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods and Analysis: In this cross-sectional study, tears and conjunctival secretions of both eyes were collected using disposable conjunctival swabs and Schirmer’s test strips from hospitalized patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 in a single referral center for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, in Santo André, São Paulo Metropolitan Area, Brazil. Ocular samples underwent reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests for SARSCoV-2 RNA identification according to CDC recommendations. From medical records, we obtained patient demographics, baseline comorbidities, clinical data, and clinical laboratory results. Results: There were a total of 23 patients, 14 (60.9%) male with median age (interquartile range [IQR]) of 63 (19) years. The median (IQR) time interval between symptoms onset and sample collection was 18 (22) days, and median (IQR) time interval between confirmatory exam for COVID-19 and sample collection was 11 (17) days. All samples from both conjunctival swabs and Schirmer’s test strips yielded negative results for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. No patient had ocular symptoms. Conclusion: These results suggest that patients hospitalized with moderate-tosevere COVID-19 are at low risk of developing ocular symptoms and that the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission through tears or conjunctival secretions is low. These biological materials should not be considered in the management of hospital beds. Further studies with larger samples and assessment of the temporal dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 detection on ocular secretions remain necessary to definitively address this issue.
