Different rates of conjunctivitis in COVID-19 eastern and western hospitalized patients: a meta-analysis

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is a lung infection that in its most severe manifestations leads to ischemic, thrombotic and respiratory complications that can increase mortality and intensive care admission. In the early phase of pandemic infection, we assessed the relationship between conjunctivitis and COVID-19. Interestingly, we found an association between COVID-19 severe disease and an increased incidence of conjunctivitis. However, the meta-analysis was limited by the low rate of events and by the population composed exclusively by Chinese COVID-19 patients. Thus, after almost 2 years of pandemic, the goal of this meta-analysis is to assess whether the association with COVID-19 severity persists in a larger number of patients with conjunctivitis and different ethnicities. As eligibility criteria we assessed the following types of studies: clinical studies in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 infection that assessed the severe (as severe pneumonia, mortality, ARDS, and use of mechanical ventilation or ICU recovery) and non-severe forms of the disease and reported the incidence of conjunctivitis.