Authors' objectives: To determine if there is any evidence that COVID-19 infection can cause the development of convergence insufficiency.

Authors' results and conclusions: The final search identified eight published studies. Upon examination on the titles and abstract of these eight studies, four studies were thought to be relevant and were retrieved in full for further appraisal. Of these four studies that were retrieved in full, three studies were not relevant/did not provide relevant data and will not be discussed further. It should be noted that none of these four studies investigated the (causal) association on the development of convergence insufficiency after COVID-19 infection. As such, one study was summarized in our review. At present, there is no data/study to support the association between infection with SARS-Cov2 virus and the development of convergence insufficiency. At present, the reported association between increased screen time (especially computer screen time) and the increase in the Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Scores (CISS) due to COVID-19 confinement has to be interpreted with caution since bias, chance and confounding cannot be excluded from the reported association.

Authors' recommendations: The final search identified eight published studies. Upon examination on the titles and abstract of these eight studies, four studies were thought to be relevant and were retrieved in full for further appraisal. Of these four studies that were retrieved in full, three studies were not relevant/did not provide relevant data and will not be discussed further. It should be noted that none of these four studies investigated the (causal) association on the development of convergence insufficiency after COVID-19 infection. As such, one study was summarized in our review. At present, there is no data/study to support the association between infection with SARS-Cov2 virus and the development of convergence insufficiency. At present, the reported association between increased screen time (especially computer screen time) and the increase in the Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Scores (CISS) due to COVID-19 confinement has to be interpreted with caution since bias, chance and confounding cannot be excluded from the reported association.

Authors' methods: A comprehensive and systematic literature search was conducted on commercial medical literature databases on December 16, 2022. No limitations, such as on the language of publication, were implemented in this literature search. A manual search on the references of the articles that were retrieved in full was also conducted.

Project Status: Completed

URL for project: https://www.worksafebc.com/en/about-us/research-services/evidence-based-medicine-and-systematic-reviews

Year Published: 2022

URL for published report: https://www.worksafebc.com/en/resources/health-care-providers/guides/convergence-insufficiency-covid-19-infection?lang=en

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Mini HTA

Country: Canada

Organisation Name: WorkSafeBC

Contact Address: 6591 Westminster Highway, Richmond, BC, V7C 1C6 Canada. Tel: 604-231-8417; Fax: 604-279-7698

Contact Name: ebpg@worksafebc.com

Contact Email: ebpg@worksafebc.com

Copyright: WorkSafe BC