“Vision Loss” and COVID-19 Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Visual impairment in terms of reduced visual acuity and “visual loss” has been reported as an atypical symptom in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to assess the cumulative incidence of “visual loss” during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and review the current evidence regarding “visual loss” caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We systematically searched the PubMed, Embase, and Scopus databases for relevant studies published that clearly described “vision loss” and SARS-CoV-2 infection. All studies reporting concomitant “vision loss” and laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were included. Meta-analyses were conducted using the measurement of risk and a 95% confidence interval for each study. Results: Our search ide...