Acute Corneal Endothelial Graft Rejection With Coinciding COVID-19 Infection

Jin, Sierra X.; Juthani, Viral

To report a case of acute corneal endothelial graft rejection with the concurrent onset of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms. OBSERVATIONS: A 31-year-old African American woman with a history of asthma, sleep apnea, obesity (BMI of 40), and bilateral keratoconus was noted to have acute corneal endothelial graft rejection 3 months after uncomplicated penetrating keratoplasty of the left eye. The patient developed dysgeusia and subjective fever on the same day as ocular discomfort, and she was subsequently diagnosed with COVID-19 with only these 2 classic symptoms of the viral infection. CONCLUSIONS: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is known to cause conjunctivitis and has demonstrated transmissibility through ocular secretions. Acute immune and inflammatory dysregulations have been seen in cases of COVID-19 through various mechanisms. COVID-19 infection may potentially compromise ocular immune privilege contributing to acute corneal graft rejection.