A retrospective cohort study in the US has shown that patients with non-infectious uveitis (NIU) are more likely to contract Covid-19 and experience severe outcomes. However, this association was due to the demographics, comorbidities and medications of patients with NIU, rather than to NIU alone, reported the study’s authors, led by Dr Claire Miller, F.I. Proctor Foundation, University of California, writing in Ophthalmology.
Researchers also found that systemic corticosteroid use was linked significantly to the increased likelihood of Covid-19 infection, being hospitalised and dying in hospital, and suggested additional investigation was necessary to identify the impact of corticosteroid exposure on Covid-19-related outcomes. The study included 5.8 million patients, of whom 0.5% had an NIU diagnosis.
