COVID-19 and Immunosuppressive Therapy in Ocular Inflammatory Disease, a Telemedicine Survey

Ebrahimiadib, Nazanin; Fadakar, Kaveh; Riazi-Esfahani, Hamid; Zarei, Mohammad; Maleki, Arash; Bojabadi, Leila; Ahmadi, Amin; Look-Why, Sydney; Foster, C Stephen

Purpose: Determine the risk of immunomodulatory therapy (IMT) for COVID-19 infection morbidity.Method: A telemedicine survey on patients of a referral uveitis clinic was performed. Signs of infection, habits, and hospitalizations during the 7 months of the COVID-19 pandemic prior to the study date were recorded. Suggestive findings in chest CT scan and/or positive RT-PCR were considered as confirmed COVID-19 infection while those with only suggestive symptoms were considered as suspected cases. Risk factors including sanitary measures and IMT were compared between patients with confirmed cases and patients without infection.Result: 694 patients were included. Eight patients were identified as confirmed cases and 22 patients as suspected cases of COVID-19 infection. Close contact with infected persons was the only significant risk factor for contracting COVID-19.Conclusion: Using IMT did not affect hospitalization and/or ICU admission and can thus be continued during the pandemic, provided that instructions for preventive measures are followed.