Sample:
This cross-sectional study documented novel clinical and metabolomics
findings in patients diagnosed with AMN associated with SARS-CoV-2
infection (AMN-SARS-CoV-2). The study was conducted at the Ophthalmology
Department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical
University between November 2022 and March 2023. The study was approved
by the Institutional Ethics Committee of The Second Affiliated Hospital
of Chongqing Medical University and adhered to relevant guidelines and
regulations. Informed written consent was obtained from all patients.
Diagnosis of AMN-SARS-CoV-2 was based on the following clinical
criteria: 1) Positive SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription-polymerase chain
reaction (RT-PCR) test; 2) acute onset paracentral or central scotoma
history; 3) parafoveal grey dark wedge or teardrop-shaped lesions on
near-infrared reflectance (NIR) imaging; 4) near-infrared parafoveal
hypo-reflective lesions, hyper-reflectivity of the outer plexiform layer
(OPL), and attenuation of ellipsoid and interdigitation zones on
spectrum domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) B-scans. The
exclusion criteria included any other retinal diseases such as
age-related macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy. A total of 16
AMN-SARS-CoV-2 cases were identified, with 14 eventually enrolled.
Control group samples were collected from age- and sex-matched
SARS-CoV-2-positive patients without AMN (SARS-CoV-2-no AMN). All
patients underwent comprehensive ophthalmological examinations,
including best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure,
NIR, SD-OCT, OCT angiography (OCTA), and fundus photography. Peripheral
blood was also collected from each individual for subsequent
experiments.