Optic neuritis following COVID-19 vaccination: Coincidence or side-effect? - A case series

The whole world waiting for the elimination of COVID-19. This is a short series of three cases that presented with optic neuritis. On further inquiry, all had received the Covishield vaccine within 5-12 days just before the presentation, with no history of COVID-19 positive RT-PCR. The range of age was 27-48 years. All patients improved after pulse steroid therapy and are still under follow-up. After being plagued by COVID-19 for nearly 2 years, the whole world wishes for little more than complete eradication of the disease. Our country commenced the much-awaited vaccination drive from Jan 2021. Ophthalmic manifestations have appeared in many forms post-COVID-19, among which neuro-ophthalmic manifestations are infrequent. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a short case series from our country presenting with optic neuritis after COVID-19 vaccination, without any sign of active infection.

Automated summary

This is the first reported case series in our country of optic neuritis following COVID-19 vaccination without any sign of active infection. Patients developed symptoms within 5-12 days after receiving the vaccine and improved after pulse steroid therapy.