COVID-19 Associated Bilateral Acute Iris Transillumination

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To report a case of bilateral acute iris transillumination (BAIT) in association with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Case report: A 44-year-old woman patient presented with decreased visual acuity, pain, photophobia, and redness in both eyes. The patient reported that she had recent close contact with severe acute respiratory syndrome - coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) case; also, she mentioned that she was hospitalized for bilateral pneumonia for 14 days. On examination, visual acuity of both eyes was 20/40. Slit-lamp biomicroscopy showed bilateral pigment deposition on the corneal endothelium, 4+ pigment dispersion in the anterior chamber, iris depigmentation with iris transillumination defects. Intraocular pressure was measured as 32 mmHg in right eye and 38 mmHg in left eye. The patient was started on bilaterally topical anti-inflammatory and anti-glaucomatous therapy.

Conclusion: It is important to keep in mind that ocular manifestations associated with COVID-19 may include rare entities such as BAIT.

KEYWORDS:

• Bilateral acute iris transillumination
• COVID-19
• ocular hypertension
• therapy
• visual acuity

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.