Nerve fiber loss and an increase in dendritic or key immune cells on the cornea may help identify Long COVID, according to a small study published online today in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.
Long COVID is characterised by a range of potentially debilitating symptoms which develop in at least 10% of people who have recovered from acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study has quantified corneal sub-basal nerve plexus morphology and dendritic cell (DC) density in patients with and without long COVID.
Corneal confocal microscopy identifies corneal small nerve fibre loss and increased DCs in patients with long COVID, especially those with neurological symptoms. CCM could be used to objectively identify patients with long COVID.
Source: British Journal of Ophthalmology