Investigating retinal vasculopathy pre-COVID-19 as an independent risk factor predictive of sepsis in COVID-19
Description: There is a pressing need to develop predictors of COVID-19 outcomes for intensive care unit (ICU) patients to assist in patient stratification. The number of comorbidities is a predictor of mortality in COVID-19. Diabetes mellitus represents a high-risk group for severe COVID-19. Clinical retinopathy in at-risk groups represents a sentinel sign of blood-retina barrier breakdown in patients with the comorbidities associated with poor COVID-19 outcomes. In this study, we will address the question of whether diabetic patients with existing diabetic retinopathy have worse COVID-19 outcomes, and if so whether this is associated with the SARS-CoV-2 virus being able to reach tissues beyond the respiratory system, in this case the vitreous of the eye. This will shed light both into the mechanisms of disease and provide a path towards non-invasive risk assessment using retinal fundus imaging, which has already been demonstrated in ICU settings.
Funder: Diabetes UK
Amount: £85,130
Funding type: research
Funder scheme: COVID 19 Project (partnership with Fight for Sight)
Start date: 2020-11-01
End date: 2022-05-02
Investigators: Miguel Bernabeu, Miguel Bernabeu
Institution: University of Edinburgh
Funded outputs count: 22
Funder award ID: 20/0006221
OpenAlex ID: G6924019685