Neuropathic Corneal Pain as Debilitating Manifestation of LONG-COVID

Johannes Nikolaus Woltsche; Jutta Horwath-Winter; Christian Dorn; Ingrid Boldin; Gernot Steinwender; Astrid Heidinger; Nora Woltsche

doi:10.1080/09273948.2022.2090963

Neuropathic Corneal Pain as Debilitating Manifestation of LONG-COVID

Ocul Immunol Inflamm. 2023 Aug;31(6):1216-1218. doi: 10.1080/09273948.2022.2090963. Epub 2022 Jul 7.

Authors

Johannes Nikolaus Woltsche¹, Jutta Horwath-Winter¹, Christian Dorn², Ingrid Boldin¹, Gernot Steinwender¹, Astrid Heidinger¹, Nora Woltsche¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
² Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.

PMID: 35797498
DOI: 10.1080/09273948.2022.2090963

Abstract

This report illustrates the case of a female patient suffering from severe ocular discomfort, tinnitus and ageusia, 7 months after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. The medical history implicated a diagnosis of LONG-COVID with ocular pain as the most debilitating symptom. In-vivo confocal microscopy revealed corneal microneuromas with hyperreflectivity and irregular enlargement of nerve endings in both eyes, which led to the diagnosis of neuropathic corneal pain. The aim of this report is to increase awareness that COVID-19 induced neuropathic pain can also occur in the cornea representing the human body's most richly innervated tissue.

Keywords: Confocal microscopy; LONG-COVID; SARS-CoV-2; microneuroma; neuropathic corneal pain.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / complications
Cornea / innervation
Female
Humans
Microscopy, Confocal
Neuralgia* / diagnosis
Neuralgia* / etiology
Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome
SARS-CoV-2