Optic Neuritis and COVID-19 Vaccination: Is There Any Association?

Nemer Mohammad Nader Nemer Ali¹ & Hamza Khaled Mohammad Al-Salhi²

¹Department of Neurology, Stadt Klinikum Soest Hospital, Germany
²Hashemite University, Public University in Zarqa, Jordan

Dr. Nemer Mohammad Nader Nemer Ali, Department of Neurology, Stadt Klinikum Soest Hospital, Germany.

Keywords: COVID-19; Vaccination

Abstract

Generally, Optic neuritis (ON) can be defined as an acute optic neuropathy, which could be categorized into demyelating, or idiopathic. This means, it can present as an isolated disorder, or as a part of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). However, optic neuritis can be considered as a complication following vaccine administration. Indeed, optic neuritis is one of the most common adverse ocular events associated with nine different vaccine types [1,2]. According to VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System), there are a wide variety of reported adverse events related to the different types of COVID-19 vaccine. Of these reports, many cases developed blindness (either unilateral or bilateral), foreign body sensation in the eye, color blindness, conjunctivitis (allergic or inflammatory), and other ocular events [1-4]. Most of these ocular events could be related to optic neuritis as a presenting symptom. We will focus in this article on reported cases of optic neuritis following COVID-19 vaccine, are these cases similar to demyelinating/idiopathic optic neuritis, regarding symptoms, affected age group, diagnosis and prognosis?

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