Retinal Vascular Occlusion after COVID-19 Vaccination: More Coincidence than Causal Relationship? Data from a Retrospective Multicentre Study
Open Access
- 30 August 2022
- journal article
- research article
- Published by MDPI AG in Journal of Clinical Medicine
- Vol. 11 (17), 5101
- https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11175101
Abstract
Background: To investigate whether vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 is associated with the onset of retinal vascular occlusive disease (RVOD). Methods: In this multicentre study, data from patients with central and branch retinal vein occlusion (CRVO and BRVO), central and branch retinal artery occlusion (CRAO and BRAO), and anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy (AION) were retrospectively collected during a 2-month index period (1 June–31 July 2021) according to a defined protocol. The relation to any previous vaccination was documented for the consecutive case series. Numbers of RVOD and COVID-19 vaccination were investigated in a case-by-case analysis. A case–control study using age- and sex-matched controls from the general population (study participants from the Gutenberg Health Study) and an adjusted conditional logistic regression analysis was conducted. Results: Four hundred and twenty-one subjects presenting during the index period (61 days) were enrolled: one hundred and twenty-one patients with CRVO, seventy-five with BRVO, fifty-six with CRAO, sixty-five with BRAO, and one hundred and four with AION. Three hundred and thirty-two (78.9%) patients had been vaccinated before the onset of RVOD. The vaccines given were BNT162b2/BioNTech/Pfizer (n = 221), followed by ChadOx1/AstraZeneca (n = 57), mRNA-1273/Moderna (n = 21), and Ad26.COV2.S/Johnson & Johnson (n = 11; unknown n = 22). Our case–control analysis integrating population-based data from the GHS yielded no evidence of an increased risk after COVID-19 vaccination (OR = 0.93; 95% CI: 0.60–1.45, p = 0.75) in connection with a vaccination within a 4-week window. Conclusions: To date, there has been no evidence of any association between SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and a higher RVOD risk.This publication has 41 references indexed in Scilit:
- Nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy: cause, effect, and managementEye and Brain, 2017
- Atrial fibrillation in retinal vascular occlusion disease and non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathyPLOS ONE, 2017
- Retinal artery occlusion and associated recurrent vascular risk with underlying etiologiesPLOS ONE, 2017
- Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Central Retinal Artery OcclusionOphthalmology, 2015
- Prävalenz und Risikofaktoren von Vorhofflimmern in DeutschlandHerz, 2015
- Comorbidity in patients with branch retinal vein occlusion: case-control studyBMJ, 2012
- Die Gutenberg GesundheitsstudieBundesgesundheitsblatt - Gesundheitsforschung - Gesundheitsschutz, 2012
- The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Statement: Guidelines for reporting observational studiesPreventive Medicine, 2007
- The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Statement: Guidelines for Reporting Observational StudiesPLoS Medicine, 2007
- Under-Reporting of Adverse Drug ReactionsDrug Safety, 2006