Acute Macular Neuroretinopathy and Paracentral Acute Middle Maculopathy during SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Vaccination

Purpose: To review the demographic and clinical profile of patients developing acute macular neuroretinopathy (AMN) or paracentral acute middle maculopathy (PAMM) after receiving coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccination or infection. Methods: In this review article, the published literature was searched to determine cases developing either AMN or PAMM after COVID-19 vaccinations or infections. Data, including demographic profile, presenting features, symptoms, diagnosis, and clinical outcomes, were extracted from the selected publications. These parameters were compared between the two groups, i.e., patients developing AMN/PAMM either after vaccination or infection. Results: After the literature review, 57 patients developing either AMN (n = 40), PAMM (n = 14), or both (n = 3) after COVID-19 infection (n = 29) or vaccination (n = 28) were included (mean age: 34.9 +/- 14.4 years; n = 38; 66.7% females). In 24.6% patients, the diagnosis of COVID-19 infection was preceded by the development of ocular disease. There were no significant differences in the age or gender between the patients developing AMN or PAMM after vaccination or infection (p > 0.13). Among the vaccination group, the highest number of patients developing AMN/PAMM were after the Oxford-AstraZeneca (n = 12; 42.9%). Patients with vaccination had a significantly early onset of AMN/PAMM compared to those with infection (11.5 +/- 17.6 days versus 37.8 +/- 43.6 days; p = 0.001). Conclusions: Both AMN and PAMM are reported to be associated with COVID-19 infections and in persons receiving vaccination against COVID-19. While COVID-19 infections and vaccinations may have a contributory role, other risk factors such as oral contraceptive pills may also play a role in the development of the disease.