Arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (AAION) Associated with COVID-19 Infection: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Kourosh Shahraki; Amin Najafi; Negin Ashoori; Nayyereh Razzaghpour; Kianoush Shahraki

doi:10.1155/2023/9009925

Arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (AAION) Associated with COVID-19 Infection: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Case Rep Ophthalmol Med. 2023 Jul 17:2023:9009925. doi: 10.1155/2023/9009925. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Kourosh Shahraki¹, Amin Najafi², Negin Ashoori², Nayyereh Razzaghpour², Kianoush Shahraki¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, Alzahra Eye Hospital, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran.
² Department of Surgery, School of Medicine and Allied Medical Sciences, Imam Reza Hospital, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran.

Abstract

Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION) is the most frequent cause of acute optic nerve damage in the elderly, usually causing acute, unilateral, and painless permanent visual loss. Arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AAION) is a result of endothelial cell inflammation and the subsequent thrombosis and occlusion in the blood-supplying arteries of the optic nerve head. AAION accounts only for 5-10% of all AION cases that are associated with vasculitis which usually takes place in the course of a giant cell arteritis (GCA). In this paper, we report a case of AAION following a COVID-19 respiratory infection. Although it is uncertain whether SARS-CoV-2 infection triggered the AAION or was coincidental, the possible association of the events is concerning.

Publication types

Case Reports