Source: China News Network
China News Agency, Hong Kong, March 28 (reporter Han Xingtong) - the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) announced on the 28th that the research team of the Department of Ophthalmology and visual science of CUHK School of Medicine found that one in five new crown rehabilitation patients had at least one symptom related to dry eye, such as blurred vision, pain or burning sensation. The more serious the patient's condition of new crown, the higher the risk of dry eye.
The CUHK research team conducted a comprehensive ophthalmic assessment and examination for 228 new crown rehabilitation patients and 109 healthy people. All participants were carefully screened to ensure that they had not suffered from any ocular surface disease or ocular trauma, had not undergone corrective surgery or ophthalmic surgery, had not used any ophthalmic drugs or had not worn contact lenses in the past three months.
The comprehensive evaluation of participants' eye symptoms was slightly higher than that of researchers' general health examination. The study also found that the tear rupture time of patients who needed any form of oxygen supplement during hospitalization was about 1.6 seconds shorter than that of patients who did not need oxygen supplement. Shortened tear rupture time increases the risk of dry eye symptoms, one of the reasons is that the flow of gas in the nasal cavity during oxygen supplementation accelerates tear evaporation.
Yin Haonan, the lead author of this research article and assistant professor of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences of CUHK Medical College, said that the study found that for each lower value of CT value of respiratory tract samples collected by patients with new crown on admission (the lower the CT value, the higher the virus amount), the risk of any dry eye related ocular surface symptoms will increase by about 10% in the first month after rehabilitation. That means that the more serious the disease of Xinguan is, the risk of dry eye symptoms will increase accordingly.
Zhuang Jinlong, the chief researcher of this study and associate professor of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences of CUHK Medical College, believes that the relevant research results are a strong reason to support the public to vaccinate the new coronavirus vaccine as soon as possible. Vaccination is the most important and effective measure at present. It can significantly reduce the amount of virus after infection (increase CT value) and reduce the chance of suffering from severe disease and requiring oxygen supplement treatment. Vaccination is also the most effective measure to prevent eye symptoms and all other sequelae after rehabilitation. (end)