Open AccessArticle
Radial Peripapillary Capillary Plexus Perfusion and Endothelial Dysfunction in Early Post-SARS-CoV-2 Infection
by
Maria Cristina Savastano, Luca Santoro, Emanuele Crincoli, Claudia Fossataro, Gloria Gambini, Alfonso Savastano, Umberto De Vico, Angelo Santoliquido, Antonio Nesci, Francesco Landi, Stanislao Rizzo and on behalf of Gemelli against COVID-19 Post-Acute Care Study Group
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3013
Abstract
Background: Endothelial cells damage and thromboinflammation are considered key elements in the generation of organ impairment in patients with COVID-19 disease. The endothelial function is evaluated by measuring flow-mediated dilation (FMD). We aimed to analyze the association between FMD impairment and retinal vascular
[...] Read more.
Background: Endothelial cells damage and thromboinflammation are considered key elements in the generation of organ impairment in patients with COVID-19 disease. The endothelial function is evaluated by measuring flow-mediated dilation (FMD). We aimed to analyze the association between FMD impairment and retinal vascular parameters in early post-COVID-19 patients. 00118-00199Tomography (OCT), OCT Angiography (OCTA) and slit lamp examination were performed. FMD ≤ 7% was considered as pathological. Our primary outcome was to assess potential differences in the radial peripapillary capillary plexus flow index (RPCP-FI) and RPCP density (RPCP-D) values between post-COVID-19 patients with and without FMD impairment. The associations of other retinal vascular parameters with FMD impairment were assessed as secondary endpoints. Results: FMD impairment was detected in 31 patients (37.8%). RPCP-FI (
p = 0.047), age (
p = 0.048) and prevalence of diabetes (
p = 0.046) significantly differed in patients with FMD ≤ 7% in regression analysis. RPCP-FI was linearly correlated with FMD values (R = 0.244,
p =0.027). SCT was found to be lower in patients with impaired FMD (
p = 0.004), although this difference was only a trend in binary logistic regression output (
p = 0.07). Conclusions: Early post-COVID-19 patients showed a higher prevalence of FMD impairment compared to the general population. Age, diabetes and RPCP-FI were independently correlated with the presence of endothelial impairment in the early post-infective period.
Full article
►▼
Show Figures