COVID-related choroiditis masquerading as a choroidal melanoma
DOI: 10.32364/2311-7729-2022-22-3-197-202
A.F. Brovkina1,2, S.Yu. Nechesnyuk2, A.V. Dobroserdov2
1Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education, Moscow, Russian Federation
2S.P. Botkin City Clinical Hospital, Moscow, Russian Federation
In the last two years, considerable attention has focused on eye disorders in the COVID-19 infection. The damage to the inner tunic of the eye is the most dramatic. The authors address hemodynamic abnormalities in these patients occurring during the disease and in the post-COVID-19 syndrome as demonstrated by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA). Clinical presentations of COVID-related choroiditis are similar to those of other choroidites. This paper discusses a 66-year-old man with COVID-related choroiditis masquerading as choroidal melanoma who experienced the COVID-infection in April–May 2021. Clinical echographic signs of COVID-related choroiditis are described. The pathomorphology of this condition is uncovered for the first time. By comparing morphological signs in the choroid typical for cell damage with viruses and signatures of the pathological process in the inner tunic of the eye, the disease was interpreted as a COVID-associated choroiditis. The authors conclude that attention should be paid to both early vision loss and its rate when differentiating between tumor- and non-tumor-related choroid disorders.
Keywords: choroiditis, COVID-19, vasculitis, choroid disorders, choroidal melanoma, uveal melanoma.
For citation: Brovkina A.F., Nechesnyuk S.Yu., Dobroserdov A.V. COVID-related choroiditis masquerading as a choroidal melanoma. Russian Journal of Clinical Ophthalmology. 2022;22(3):197–202 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.32364/2311-7729-2022-22-3-197-202.
About the authors:
Alevtina F. Brovkina — Full Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Dr. Sc. (Med.), Professor, Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education; 2/1, Barrikadnaya str., Moscow, 125993, Russian Federation; S.P. Botkin City Clinical Hospital; 5, 2nd Botkinskiy pass., Moscow, 125284, Russian Federation; ORCID iD 0000-0001-6870-1952.
Svetlana Yu. Nechesnyuk — C. Sc. (Med.), Head of the Pathohistological Department, Moscow City Ophthalmological Center, S.P. Botkin City Clinical Hospital; 5, 2nd Botkinskiy pass., Moscow, 125284, Russian Federation; ORCID iD 0000-0001-7856-703X.
Aleksandr V. Dobroserdov — Head of the Department of Functional Diagnostics, Moscow City Ophthalmological Center, S.P. Botkin City Clinical Hospital; 5, 2nd Botkinskiy pass., Moscow, 125284, Russian Federation; ORCID iD 0000-0002-3716-9745.
Contact information: Alevtina F. Brovkina, e-mail: anab@list.ru.
Financial Disclosure: no authors have a financial or property interest in any material or method mentioned.
There is no conflict of interests.
Received 11.05.2022.
Revised 03.06.2022.
Accepted 29.06.2022.
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